Love Waits
by Frodo's-Girl92
Summary: Frodo Baggins has always been in love with his childhood sweetheart, Esmerelda Burrows.Frodo must leave the Shire on an important mission, leaving Esmerelda without him. However, when Frodo returns, he finds a big surprise...
1. Chapter 1

**PLEASE NOTE:**

**I do not own ANY of the following material. The places, events, characters, names, titles, etc. belong to their proper owners, and they get full credit. Events are fictional. Names that resemble any other individual, living or dead, is purely coincidental.**

**Any and ALL content pertaining to the 'Lord of the Rings' trilogy belongs to J.R.R. Tolkien, Peter Jackson, and any other holders of the rights. All rights reserved to them and them only. NO COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT IS INTENDED!**

****IMPORTANT NOTE BEFORE READING** In some chapters (mainly the epilogue), there will time frame differences. There will also be some changes, but this is, after all, fanfiction.**

The evening sun was setting beautifully in the Shire. All of Hobbiton was buzzing on this day, for it was the birthday of Bilbo Baggins and his "nephew" Frodo Baggins. It was Frodo's thirty-third birthday, Bilbo's one-hundred-and-eleventh. Parties were always a big deal, but little did any of them know that this was one none of them would soon forget.

Esmerelda Burrows worked in the local pub called the Green Dragon with her best friend, Rosie Cotton. Well, Rosie was her female best friend. Frodo had always been her male best friend, since before they could talk. Their parents had been best friends, but when Frodo's died and he went to live with his uncle Bilbo, he & Esmerelda grew closer, despite still being so young. Then, Esmerelda's father died when she was fourteen, and Esmerelda was devastated because she was painfully close with her father. Frodo was there for her, and he stayed with her, refusing to leave her until he knew she was going to be alright. They were the same age, they liked the same things, and on more than one occasion, everyone thought they were a couple. Esmerelda always laughed and said "Of course not!" when asked, but...she wished they were.

Esmerelda had been madly, deeply, head-over-heels in love with Frodo since they were children. It sounds absurd, but it was absolutely true. More than once, she almost let him know how she felt, but she just couldn't go through with it. What if he didn't return her affections? What if he just laughed in her face and told her there was no way it would ever happen? She didn't want to lose the one thing that brought her true happiness, the one person that she loved, cherished, and cared for most of all. He had been the only way of life she had known since she was an infant.

Esmerelda, with a sigh, brought her mind back to the present and reality. She was helping Rosie and a few other hobbits set up, and Rosie could sense that something was wrong. As she and Esmerelda finished setting up, Rosie turned to her and said, "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," Esmerelda lied, with a small, sad smile.

Rosie only raised an eyebrow at her, and returned her sad smile. Esmerelda sighed, then said, "Actually, I am not. I've just been tossing and turning something in my head is all."

"What's that?" Rosie asked, then, suddenly realizing what was troubling her friend, sighed sadly. "Oh, honey. Not the Baggins lad again?"

Esmerelda only nodded sadly. Rosie squeezed Esmerelda's shoulder gently and Esmerelda turned to look her directly in the eyes. She could tell that a motherly lecture was coming up, and mentally braced herself for it. Rosie was known to give great advice, but she'd heard the Frodo lecture many, many times over the years. It was always the same one, too; same thing, different day.

"You have to tell him," Rosie said. "You just have to, Esmerelda. You cannot carry your love for him around without it being expressed. It will weigh your heart down until the pain becomes overwhelming. You must tell him precisely how you feel. If he doesn't return your love, at least he'll have the knowledge and your heart will no longer be heavy with the need to express your love."

"I know," Esmerelda said. "It's just–I care for him above all others, Rosie. If–if he doesn't return my affections, then–then I risk losing him. I'm not willing to take it."

"Honey," Rosie said, firmly planting both hands on both of Esmerelda's shoulders. "Love is always a risk worth taking."

Esmerelda smiled sadly, then nodded. "I suppose you are right, Rosie. Alright. I will tell him tonight, after the party. Although, you should also tell Samwise Gamgee how you feel about him, too!"

"I will," Rosie said, laughing. "Someday, of course. Come. The guests shall be arriving soon."

Frodo had just left Bag End to go to his party. His uncle's good friend, the wizard Gandalf, was in the Shire, which was creating quite a great stir. Frodo always saw Gandalf as sort of a father figure when he was a boy, and that hadn't changed. His best friend, Esmerelda Burrows, had always sort of shown great love for the wizard, too. Gandalf would take Esmerelda and Frodo out for rides in the Shire when they were children, and he would show them all of the wonders of it. Frodo and Esmerelda always loved it and Frodo found himself both reminiscent and bittersweet about these memories-and any others involving Esmerelda.

He was bittersweet because, as children, it had been a simpler time for him. He didn't have to worry about finding love, he didn't have to worry about acquiring a wife and having children (both of which he wanted so badly), and he didn't have to worry about who that person would be. As he grew older, though, Esmerelda began to appeal more to him, as she went from being a young lass to a beautiful, extraordinary woman. He had loved her as a child, but that love deepened and grew as he grew older. As he grew older, he realized that the person he loved, that he wanted to be his wife and the mother of his children, was Esmerelda. It always had been.

He had been with other female hobbits, but they just weren't the same. It was always Esmerelda that his heart ached and yearned for, it was always Esmerelda that danced through his dreams and floated through his every waking moment. It was simply just always Esmerelda, and that was how it would remain for him, until the day he met his death–and beyond that, even.

Frodo sighed sadly as he neared his party, knowing that Esmerelda would probably already be there. He was always filled with joy to see her, because she was the only thing in this world that made him happy and made him feel as if he could live for anything. Frodo loved books, he loved writing, he simply just loved everything here in the Shire, but none of it held a candle to Esmerelda. None of it ever would.

He didn't know if he would ever work up the courage to let her know how he felt, and that filled him with great sadness, helplessness, and dismay. If he took the risk and the risk proved to him that she didn't love him in return, he didn't know what he would do. She was his life, his light, and without it...Frodo didn't even want to think of it.

He reached his party, unaware of just how crazy and great things would be that night.

"Esmerelda!" Esmerelda heard from behind her as she was talking to Rosie. Esmerelda turned, and saw Frodo running toward her.

Esmerelda smiled huge, and ran toward him. They met, their arms wrapping tightly around each other as Frodo spun her around in a circle. When they came to a rest, Frodo didn't loosen his grip on her, but that was quite alright, because Esmerelda wasn't letting go, either. They stood like that for quite some time, just holding onto each other, Frodo now rocking her gently back and forth, both of them smiling huge.

"Happy birthday," Esmerelda whispered into his ear, her breath tickling his ear. Frodo had to fight back a shiver.

"Thank you," he whispered back, still not letting go.

"Have you anything after the party?" Esmerelda whispered. "I must speak with you."

"I have nothing after the party," Frodo whispered back. "Is everything alright?"

"Yes," Esmerelda said, squeezing her eyes tightly shut. "It is nothing to fret over."

"Good," Frodo whispered, finally loosening his grip on her. Esmerelda almost whimpered from the absence of him, but fought it back.

Esmerelda and Frodo just stared into one another's eyes, lost. My word, Esmerelda thought. He is absolutely, breathtakingly, astonishingly gorgeous. Of course, she had always thought that, but tonight...tonight he looked even more so than ever before. He had big, beautiful blue eyes that sparkled and twinkled with pure joy, innocence, and bliss, and he had a head of brown, soft curls that cascaded into his eyes a little and onto his neck. His skin was fair, but he wasn't overly pale, and he had a voice that sounded like pure silk. He was the definition, picture, and epitome of pure, true beauty.

Frodo was equally enticed by Esmerelda. Tonight, she was wearing a beautiful light pink gown and it made her look even more gorgeous than she already was. It made her big blue-green eyes stand out, even in the firelight Frodo could see that. Her long, curly blonde hair fell perfectly past her shoulders (which, Frodo was noticing, were bare, for the gown sleeves rested on her forearms).

"Mr. Frodo!" Sam said from behind them, breaking both of their thoughts. "Happy Birthday, sir!"

"Thank you very much," Frodo said, his eyes lifting from Esmerelda to Sam.

Esmerelda turned around, and smiled and waved to Sam, who returned the gestures. Esmerelda walked over to Rosie and just watched as Frodo and Sam talked and laughed. Esmerelda sighed sadly and said, "He isn't making this any easier, Rosie. Look at him. Have you ever seen a vision more breathtaking?"

"Don't even think about changing your mind," Rosie said sternly. "You are going to tell him if I have to force you to."

Esmerelda sighed sadly once again, placing her forehead against the tree behind her as she realized there was no going back now. She was going to tell Frodo Baggins that she was deeply and unconditionally in love with him.

Esmerelda had been watching, and, had she been the only one, she would've believed herself to be crazy. She realized from the shocked gasps and murmurs that she had not been the only one. When she spotted Frodo up in the front, she knew she hadn't imagined it. He looked worried, confused, and frightened.

The evening had started off wonderfully, with every guest there dancing merrily. Esmerelda and Frodo danced, laughed, and smiled together most of the evening. Merry Brandybuck and Pippin Took set off some of Gandalf's fireworks, which was also quite entertaining. It was toward the end of the evening that things got...odd.

Bilbo Baggins had went up to give a speech to all of the party guests. He had been talking, nothing out of the ordinary there. It was when he vanished in thin air that had raised eyebrows and shocked absolutely everyone.

Frodo was making his way for the back to leave, and Esmerelda caught him before he could go anywhere.

"What has happened?" Esmerelda asked.

"I haven't the slightest idea," Frodo said, that worried tone taking over his voice. "Help–help me find him?"

"Of course," Esmerelda said softly, and, with a wave to Rosie (who grinned at her and mouthed 'Tell him' to her as she left), set off with Frodo to find Bilbo.

They searched high and low, everywhere they could think of, but there was no sign of him. Defeated, Frodo and Esmerelda walked to Bag End to see if he perhaps ended up there, but they were greeted by Gandalf instead.

"Gandalf," Esmerelda and Frodo said together.

"Frodo, Esmerelda," Gandalf greeted with a smile, tipping his hat to them. "I presume you're searching for Bilbo?"

"Yes," Frodo said. "Oh, Gandalf! Where has he gone? He is not in Bag End, is he?"

"He has gone on a very needed adventure, dear Frodo," Gandalf told him with a sad smile. "Bag End is now yours. You may do with it what you like."

"I–I'm afraid I don't understand," Frodo said, staring up at Gandalf with an expression of sadness and fear on his perfect features. "Where has he gone?"

"He has gone to receive rest," Gandalf said. "He will be safe, you should not worry. Enjoy the remainder of your birthday, child."

"I–" Frodo began, then nodded. "He has been behaving strangely the last few days. Perhaps that is why."

"Perhaps," Gandalf said with a warm smile. "Frodo, I must see you alone."

"Alright," Frodo said. "Whatever for?"

"Esmerelda, you may stay here and wait if you would like," Gandalf said, ignoring Frodo's question. "This will take no time at all."

"Okay," Esmerelda said, smiling at Frodo as he and Gandalf walked into Bag End.

Esmerelda sat across the road from the home, waiting, wondering what was happening in there. It was seeming to take a little time, and when Gandalf and Frodo finally emerged, Frodo looked confused–and a little frightened.

"My business here is finished, for now," Gandalf told them as Esmerelda walked over to join them. "Frodo, remember what I told you."

"Alright," Frodo said, small and frightened. "I–I shall."

"Goodnight, children," Gandalf said with a wave to them both.

"Goodnight," Esmerelda and Frodo said together as Gandalf walked away.

Esmerelda then turned to Frodo and said, "My dear Frodo. I am so sorry about what has happened. I know you love your uncle very much."

Frodo looked up at her with a tear in his eye. Esmerelda caught it with her finger before it could fall. Frodo then said, "I still do not understand why he would leave me alone here. Why now and not some other time?"

"I am unsure of the answers you seek," Elizabeth said, smiling at him sadly. "What was that about?"

"I cannot say," Frodo said, sighing sadly. "I feel so alone now without him here."

"Come," Esmerelda said, putting an arm around Frodo's shoulders. "Let's go inside, and I'll make you a warm cup of tea."

Frodo nodded, and they entered Bag End. It was exactly as Bilbo had left it, except a few things were now gone that he had taken with him. It seemed odd to Esmerelda, entering Bag End without Bilbo cheerfully greeting her when she arrived. Bilbo had loved Esmerelda like a daughter, and Esmerelda always sort of saw Bilbo as a father to her, too, especially after her own passed away.

"Just so you know," Esmerelda said as they entered the home. "You are not alone here. You have me. You will always have me."

Frodo smiled at her, that warm, lovely, inviting smile that Esmerelda loved so very much. "I know I do. If you hadn't been with me just now when I discovered the truth, I probably would've lost my sanity."

Esmerelda smiled. "It's my absolute pleasure to be here with you. I will be here as long as you need. If you would like me to stay here for a few days, then I shall. As long as it takes, alright?"

Frodo walked over to her and gave her a big, warm hug. "Thank you. That means the world."

"Do you want tea?" Esmerelda asked him as they went out to the living room. Frodo sat on the floor in front of the fire place.

"No," Frodo said.

"Anything at all?"

"No."

"You're worried about your uncle."

"In a way of sorts, yes," Frodo replied as Esmerelda sat down on the floor next to him. "In another, no. If Gandalf says that he will be safe, then he shall. Gandalf knows, he always knows."

Esmerelda smiled at him, then, taking an extreme risk, she reached over and took one his hands in one of hers. They were not rough as her father's had been before he died, as he did so much outdoor work. Frodo's hands were so soft, so warm, so smooth, so inviting. She expected him to jerk away from her, but he didn't. He tangled his fingers in hers, enjoying how glorious and how right Esmerelda's hand felt in his own.

"Frodo," Esmerelda said, looking over at him.

Their eyes met, dead on, and Esmerelda fought back a gasp at just how beautiful he looked in the firelight of the fire that either Bilbo or Gandalf had made before they departed Bag End. Esmerelda just looked into those eyes, getting lost and feeling herself drowning in their depths. She allowed it to happen, enjoying how wonderful it felt to look into those eyes.

"Yes?" Frodo asked, rubbing his thumb in small, gentle circles on the back of Esmerelda's hand.

"There is something you must know," Esmerelda said, her eyes burrowing deeper into his, knowing now that she had to go through with this.

It was now or it was never, and that statement applied here now more than ever. Esmerelda knew that, and her stomach began doing somersaults.


	2. Chapter 2

**PLEASE NOTE:**

**I do not own ANY of the following material. The places, events, characters, names, titles, etc. belong to their proper owners, and they get full credit. Events are fictional. Names that resemble any other individual, living or dead, is purely coincidental.**

**Any and ALL content pertaining to the 'Lord of the Rings' trilogy belongs to J.R.R. Tolkien, Peter Jackson, and any other holders of the rights. All rights reserved to them and them only. NO COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT IS INTENDED!**

"What troubles you so?" Frodo asked her, seeing the pain and fear in her eyes. He had not seen that look in a long time and almost forgot what it looked like. He hated to see it, because her eyes lost that beautiful sparkling bliss that he loved so.

"I–" Esmerelda said, unsure of how to go on. "It–I–"

"Shh," Frodo soothed. "You can tell me. I'm always here, to unload your troubles, to ease your pain, to bring you joy and bliss that I enjoy seeing you having so much. Tell me what is troubling you."

Finally, Esmerelda swallowed her stupid pride and proceeded. "Frodo, I–I haven't an idea how you will respond to what I am about to speak onto you, but I–it must be spoken."

"What is it?" Frodo asked, reaching up with his free hand and cradling her cheek with it, stroking his thumb gently around the corner of her mouth. "Speak it to me."

"Frodo," Esmerelda said, meeting his eyes and making sure they stayed firmly locked in his. "Ever since we were babes, I had such deep admiration for you. I always imagined within my mind what it would be like when we were older, old enough to take on the true meaning of love. When I was about ten, I realized that I didn't have to be old enough to know what love meant. I found it in you when we were just children. Oh, how sometimes I just wished–I just wished that either you knew or–or that I did not love you any longer, but–but neither happened, but now you know. I love you, Frodo Baggins. I love you truly, deeply, madly, and unconditionally. I always have, and I always will, and not a thing within the mortal or dead world will change it."

Frodo was silent for a long time, looking away from her eyes and staring down at the floor. Wonderful, Esmerelda thought. He doesn't return my love and I just made a complete and total fool of myself.

"I supposed this would happen," Esmerelda whispered, then laughed a little to herself as she removed her hand from Frodo's. "Rosie told me to speak this onto you. I should not have listened. I will leave you to your bed. Goodnight, Frodo."

Esmerelda got up to leave, but as she reached the front door, she heard Frodo frantically say, "Wait. Please do not leave."

Esmerelda obliged, walking back over to where he sat and sitting back down next to him. The firelight danced across his lovely face and danced within his even lovelier eyes. Esmerelda looked away, ashamed and embarrassed, and just stared at the flickering flames in the fireplace. She felt Frodo slip his hands into hers, intertwining his fingers into hers again.

"Look at me," Frodo whispered. "Esmerelda. Look within my eyes."

Esmerelda turned her head to him slowly, and she noticed that he had moved just a little closer to her than he had been before. She finally met his eyes, and when she did, Frodo whispered, "Do not be fooled by my silence. I am sincerely sorry for misleading you with it, I truly am. I was silent because–because I did not know what to say. I return all of your affections. I return every word you spoke to me. You are the only light of my life, the only life I have ever truly known. You give life to me, you are what flows and swims within my mind and my veins, and there are honestly no words to how you make me feel, Esmerelda Burrows. I love you. I love you so very much."

Esmerelda had a couple tears fall onto her cheeks, which Frodo gently wiped away. Esmerelda smiled at him through her tears, her heart exploding with happy, blissful joy and love. Frodo returned the smile, his heart doing somersaults in his chest, and then he dared to do the one thing he had always wanted to do. He leaned forward, his lips taking aim at Esmerelda's, and Esmerelda began leaning toward him as well. When their lips finally touched, both of them shivered a little and their hearts began doing crazy flips in their chests. It was electric, it was wonderful, and it wasn't in the least bit awkward. This is what was destined for them, this was what they had wanted for years and years, and here it was.

As Frodo's mouth opened, so did Esmerelda's. The kiss was tame, gentle, and slow, and it was pure paradise for them both. Frodo tasted sweet, like honey, and, to Frodo, Esmerelda tasted just like ripe strawberries on a beautiful summer day. He didn't want this moment to end, ever. He wanted to just kiss her and kiss her and kiss her until he drowned in her. It would be the most beautiful, welcoming death that he could fathom.

When they finally pulled away, Esmerelda said, "That was far better than how I imagined it would be."

Frodo laughed a little, rubbing the back of his head with his hand. "To me, it was such, too."

Esmerelda smiled, then placed her forehead to Frodo's. They just gazed into one another's eyes, playing with each other's fingers, their now-free hand playing with each other's hair. Esmerelda just wrapped Frodo's silky curls around her fingers and Frodo just wrapped Esmerelda's around his fingers, taking in just how soft and wonderful it felt as it slipped between his fingers. He leaned in and kissed her again, adding a little more passion this time. Esmerelda returned it, taking her hand from Frodo's to cradle his jaw.

Suddenly, Frodo pulled away from her. Esmerelda's chest was heaving up and down as she panted from that mind-blowing kiss, but Frodo only looked at her and gave a sad, apologetic smile.

"I apologize," Frodo said. "I became lost within myself there for a moment."

"There is no need to apologize for what was wanted," Esmerelda said, smiling at him coyly. "I rather enjoyed it."

"You did?" Frodo asked, a smile creeping at the corners of his mouth.

Esmerelda nodded, and Frodo, with a sad sigh, said, "I quite enjoyed it as well. It is just–it would have led to-to things and–I'm just–"

"Just what?" Esmerelda asked gently.

"I do not want to take the risk of–" Frodo began, then laughed shyly. "That sort of thing leads to–"

"I understand," Esmerelda said, and she did.

It was just that she didn't mind it. She wanted him, she didn't care. She had wanted that with Frodo since her mother gave her the chat at age eleven about where babes came from. She didn't want to force it onto him, but if that kiss was any indication...then he wanted it, too. He just didn't want to pressure Esmerelda into it was all. Esmerelda had been thinking correctly, too, for Frodo was thinking of not wanting Esmerelda to be forced into doing an act that she wasn't prepared for. He figured that she wouldn't be ready but–

"Frodo?" Esmerelda asked.

"Yes?"

"You want to take me to your bed."

It wasn't a question, and Frodo knew it wasn't. He decided to be honest with her.

"I do," Frodo said. "I just do not want you to feel obligated to me to do such a thing if you are not ready for it."

"You are not," Esmerelda said with a smile. "I quite want to myself."

Frodo smiled, knowing the look of truth in her eyes when he saw it. She wasn't just saying this to make him feel better, she wasn't just saying this so that he wouldn't disturb her about it until she finally gave in. She meant it sincerely and honestly.

"It is not too soon?" Frodo asked her. "We only just professed our love for one another not ten minutes ago."

Esmerelda laughed a little. "It is not soon. We have loved one another since we were babes. We have had thirty-three years of 'soon,' my love. I am quite ready when and if you are. Let me worry about what it could lead to, alright?"

Frodo smiled, and responded with a romantic, passionate kiss. It wasn't long before they went into Frodo's bedroom, sharing a passion-filled night together. Frodo's lips felt like rose petals as they roamed Esmerelda's body, and Frodo thought the same of Esmerelda's. Frodo particularly loved the way Esmerelda felt underneath of him, her nails digging and scratching as she writhed beneath him. It was a night they both had wanted so badly for years, and it was finally happening.

When they were finished, Frodo collapsed on top of her, burying his face in her neck as he panted. They both had just lived one of their greatest dreams, one of their best daydreams. They just laid there, gasping, trying to regain all sense of themselves. Frodo moved his weight from her and laid his head on her shoulder, wrapping his arms around her. Esmerelda wrapped her arms around him as well, holding him close.

"You were incredible," Esmerelda whispered after a little bit, stroking his back lightly.

"As were you," Frodo whispered back, taking one of his hands in hers. "I love you."

"I love you, too," Esmerelda whispered.

They both fell asleep that night, just like that. They both dreamed of one another, and they never wanted the dream or the reality to end. They just wanted to be with each other forever, just like this.

Oh, if they only knew what lay ahead.

Esmerelda awoke to the morning sun pouring through the window. Esmerelda could feel light, soft breathing on her naked shoulder, and remembered last night with immediate haste. A huge smile crept across her lips at the realization that she hadn't dreamed it. It had actually happened, and here she was, in bed with Frodo the morning after they made love. At some point last night, though, he had pulled the blankets down and placed her under them before joining her there. She also noticed that the candles and fire were out, too. Frodo had taken his position on her shoulder again, though, for that is where he now slept soundly.

Esmerelda just laid there, laying her cheek on top of his head, inhaling that wonderful sweet, musky scent of his hair. She closed her eyes, last night playing again behind her closed eyelids. She smiled reminiscently, still unable to believe it actually happened. She opened her eyes again and just looked down at how angelic Frodo looked at that moment. The sun illuminated his pale features, and his hair looked almost red in the bright sunlight. She just studied him, her heart skipping beats as she just absorbed his unearthly beauty.

Soon, though, he began to stir, and he looked up at her with sleepy eyes. He smiled faintly at her before laying his head back down on her shoulder, squeezing her against him.

"Good morning, Esmerelda," he whispered sleepily, kissing her shoulder softly. "Did you sleep well?"

"Good morning, love," she said. "I slept wonderfully."

"As did I," Frodo said, then propped himself up so that they could look into one another's eyes, resting his head in his propped hand. "I still cannot believe that last night happened. I am in great shock over it."

Esmerelda smiled. "As am I. I thought surely it was only a dream."

Frodo smiled sweetly at her, then pressed his lips to hers softly. They began kissing again, and then the realization of what happened last night really hit her. She realized the one important thing she forgot to do, the one thing that she always, always did after a long night out.

She pulled away from Frodo at once, who looked quite surprised by her haste. "Oh, no! Oh, oh no!"

"What?" Frodo asked, suddenly startled and a little concerned. "What have I done?"

"No, no!" Esmerelda said, smiling at him apologetically. "It was nothing you've done! It's just–my mother and my sister. I didn't go home last night, you see. They're probably worried sick!"

"Oh," Frodo said, laughing in relief. "Perhaps you should return to them?"

"I shall," Esmerelda said, getting out of bed and picking her dress up from the floor. She dressed, and Frodo tied her strings for her. "Thank you, Frodo. For last night, for everything. I love you so much."

"You're quite welcome, my dear Esmerelda," he whispered, taking her hand and kissing the back of it. "I love you, too. Stop by tonight?"

"I wouldn't have it any other way," Esmerelda said, smiling at him and departing from the bedroom.

Esmerelda was in such a hurry to get home that she didn't hear Sam calling for her the first few times.

She was only vaguely aware of someone calling her name, but she thought it was just her mind playing tricks on her. When she felt a hand on her arm, she spun around, startled, but found it was only Sam.

"Sam!" she exclaimed. "Was it you who was calling me?"

"It was, Miss Esmerelda," Sam told her. "I was just going to ask you what you were doing in Mr. Frodo's home at such an early hour?"

"Oh, that," Esmerelda said, grinning. "Not meaning to be rude, but you will have to speak with Mr. Frodo on such a matter. I would gladly tell you myself, but I must be getting home. I will see you later."

"Of course," Sam said, smiling. "You aren't rude, Miss Esmerelda. I understand. Go on home, now."

Esmerelda smiled at him, then took off running in the direction of her home. Sam, extremely confused, walked into Bag End to find Frodo. He found him standing at one of the windows, looking out where Sam and Esmerelda had just spoken, a huge smile on his face and a look of adoration in his eyes.

"M–Mr. Frodo?" Sam said, bringing Frodo out of his trance as he jumped and looked over at Sam.

"Sam!" Frodo exclaimed, putting a hand to his heart. "You startled me!"

"Sorry," Sam said. "I was just out gardening when I saw Miss Esmerelda leaving. I was just curious as to why she was here so early, is all."

Frodo looked at Sam, his mouth pulling into a big smile. "She stayed here last night. We–well, you mustn't tell no one, Samwise Gamgee. No one."

"You have my solemn promise, Mr. Frodo," Sam said. "I've never told any of your secrets to anyone before. This will be no different."

Frodo smiled tenderly at him, then said, "Esmerelda and I are in love, Sam. We only just professed it to one another last night after the party and–and well, Bilbo is gone. I didn't think I would be able to do such things as I did last night with Esmerelda due to that, but–but I knew he would be alright. I just know he's fine wherever he is, but I still miss him so."

"I'm sorry," Sam said. "What happened last night with Miss Esmerelda?"

"We–" Frodo said, his smile growing wider. "We expressed our love for one another in a passionate, beautiful way. Do you know what I'm speaking of, Sam?"

"I do, sir," Sam said, smiling. "I'm so happy for you both! I always knew it would happen!"

"Thank you," Frodo said, smiling.

When Esmerelda reached her home, she opened and closed the door with caution. When she closed it, she closed her eyes and winced, knowing what was to come. Sure enough–

"Where have you been?" Lily Burrows' voice came from her left. Esmerelda opened her eyes and saw her mother, who looked both worried to death and angry.

"I'm sorry, mother," Esmerelda said. "Time slipped away from me last night and–"

"Esmerelda!" Belladonna Burrows' voice came from the living room. She came out and scooped Esmerelda up in her arms, hugging her tight. "We were worried completely sick over what became of you! Where were you?"

"I was with Frodo Baggins," Esmerelda answered truthfully. "I was helping him with something was all. I assure you that everything is fine."

Her mother's featured softened as she said, "Well, at least you were with that nice Baggins lad instead of…dead. That's what runs through a mother's mind when her daughter doesn't arrive back home when she does so usually!"

"I know," Esmerelda said as Belladonna let go of her. "I'm so sorry, mother. I really am."

Now it was Lily's turn to hug her daughter. "I'm just so glad that you are alright."

"There's something you both need to know," Esmerelda said, pulling back to look from her mother to her brother. "Something about me and Frodo."

"What is it?" both Belladonna and Lily said at the same time.

Elizabeth smiled at them. Lily was approaching her eighty-fifth birthday, and her once-blonde hair that looked so much like Esmerelda's was now silver. Belladonna was fifty-five, widowed, and looked just as young as Esmerelda. Belladonna was a doctor of sorts, mainly delivering babies and giving them the proper care they needed. Belladonna resembled their father so much it was scary. She had his brown eyes and his curly brown hair, and Belladonna's was just starting to silver slightly.

"I wanted you to hear this from me instead of any other," Esmerelda told them, "for it will surely be around quick. Remember all the whisperings of Frodo and I being a couple?"

"Quite well," Belladonna said. "I remember taking part in some of those myself."

Esmerelda laughed a little, but Lily just rolled her eyes toward her other daughter. Belladonna immediately shut up and looked at Esmerelda, waiting for her to proceed.

"Well," Esmerelda said, taking a deep breath and smiling huge, "it is now a truth."

"You and the Baggins lad?" Belladonna asked, her eyes big. "Are you serious?"

"Completely," Esmerelda replied.

"I'm happy, then," Belladonna said. "He's a great kid. I always kind of knew he loved you as you loved him. I knew this would happen eventually."

"As did I," Lily replied. "If ever I could choose a boy perfect enough for my darling daughter Esmerelda, it would be Frodo Baggins. He is such a gentleman and such a sweet boy."

"Thank you very much, you two," Esmerelda said. "I am so happy. He's always made me happy."

"Rosie stopped by looking for you this morning," Lily said. "She seemed giddy. Would this by why?"

"Yes," Esmerelda replied. "I will find her. Did she say where she would be?"

"At her home," was Lily's reply.

"See?" Rosie was saying excitedly. "I told you!"

Esmeralda smiled, then said, "You did. I'm so glad you did, Rosie. Without you, I probably never would've worked up enough courage to tell him. Thank you."

"Now," Rosie said, a cunning, sneaky smile on her lips, "how was he?"

"I'm afraid I don't know what you mean," Esmerelda said, smiling awkwardly. She thought she had a good idea.

"Don't play coy with me!" Rosie exclaimed, giggling a little. "He is Frodo Baggins, for crying out loud. I'm curious. Tell me."

"There's nothing to tell," Esmerelda lied, giving Rosie that same awkward smile.

Rosie just gave her an I-know-what-you-did-with-him-last-night look, and Esmerelda , giving up, smiled and said, "Okay, okay! He was...Rosie, he was absolutely wonderful. I've never experienced anything quite like it in my entire life. He did everything absolutely perfectly, it's as if he could read my mind. Oh, and he–"

Esmerelda leaned over and whispered some of things he did, and Rosie and Esmerelda giggled like a group of twelve year old girls.

Two weeks had passed since Esmerelda and Frodo began their courtship. They spent every moment they could together. They snuggled by the fire in Bag End, often falling asleep in one another's arms right there. They made beautiful love when the mood struck (which was very often indeed), whether it was day, night, afternoon, it didn't matter to them. They would go outside at night and lay in each other's arms in the meadows of the Shire, just gazing up at the stars and the moon and would also lay there during the day, watching the clouds roll by.

One day, she and Frodo were sitting under the Party Tree. They were gazing up at the sky and were getting fairly affectionate for the public eye . No one was really paying attention, though; just if someone happened to walk by the tree. Frodo had begun kissing Esmerelda's neck as she giggled and laughed happily, and a male hobbit was wandering down the path at the time, muttering, "Silly kids" and rolled his eyes. However, no one could escape the reality of what was going on with them: Frodo Baggins and Esmerelda Burrows were in love, and they were absolutely crazy about each other.

"What do you say," Frodo had whispered in Esmerelda's ear, "we go back to Bag End for the day?"

"I say yes," Esmerelda had replied, and that is exactly what they did.

They spent all day and all night in his bed. They were both so happy, and anyone walking by Bag End to hear their loud laughter as they spoke or took one another by surprise would've known the same thing. They were in pure bliss, and nothing would bring them down from it.

Except for one thing that neither of them saw coming.


	3. Chapter 3

**PLEASE NOTE:**

**I do not own ANY of the following material. The places, events, characters, names, titles, etc. belong to their proper owners, and they get full credit. Events are fictional. Names that resemble any other individual, living or dead, is purely coincidental.**

**Any and ALL content pertaining to the 'Lord of the Rings' trilogy belongs to J.R.R. Tolkien, Peter Jackson, and any other holders of the rights. All rights reserved to them and them only. NO COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT IS INTENDED!**

Three weeks after their courtship had begun, Esmerelda and Frodo decided to go out for a walk together. The fall sun was just still high in the sky, and they were wandering down a pathway, hand in hand. Frodo had planned a little surprise for Esmerelda, for he wanted to give her something special. It was a surprise he had planned for awhile.

"Where are we going?" Esmerelda asked.

"You shall see," Frodo answered. "Close your eyes for me?"

Esmerelda giggled, closing her eyes. "Alright. They're closed."

Frodo looked at her to make sure, and he placed his hands over her eyes to make sure she didn't peek. He guided her to make sure she didn't fall, and they slowly made their way to where Frodo had set up his surprise. When they got there, Frodo removed his hands from Esmerelda's eyes and hugged her waist from behind, whispering, "Open your eyes, love" into Esmerelda's ear.

Esmerelda did as she was instructed, and gasped in surprise. They were in a grove, where red rose bushes were growing all around. Esmerelda's favorite flower had always been a rose, and Frodo knew that. On the ground was a blanket and a basket full of food.

"Frodo," Esmerelda gasped. "This-this is lovely."

"I thought you would like it," Frodo whispered, kissing her ear. "Come, love."

They sat down on the blanket and began to eat. They talked and laughed merrily as they did, and Frodo decided to give her the present he had been wanting to give her. He wanted her to have something special, but he didn't want to wait until her birthday or even the holidays.

"Esmerelda?" Frodo asked as they laid on the blanket, holding each other.

"Yeah?" Esmerelda asked.

"I want you to have something," Frodo said, sitting up.

Esmerelda did the same, and Frodo reached into his pocket and pulled out a small box. He handed it to Esmerelda, who looked at it with a puzzled look on her face.

"Open it," Frodo whispered, a smile on his face.

Esmerelda smiled and opened the box. The sight that awaited in the box made Esmerelda gasped, a hand coming up to her mouth. Inside the box was the most beautiful necklace she had ever seen. It was in the shape of a heart, and it was made of diamonds and rubies, the most gorgeous ones Esmerelda had ever seen.

"Frodo…" Esmerelda said, mesmerized as she took the necklace from the box and held it in her hand. "It is so beautiful."

"It was my mother's," Frodo said. "It-it was from my father. He gave it to her on their one-year wedding anniversary."

"I-" Esmerelda said, looking from the necklace to Frodo. "Frodo, I am flattered by this, but…I can't accept it."

"Yes, you can," Frodo whispered, closing the necklace in Esmerelda's palm. "You can. It was my mother's favorite piece of jewelry, and I want you to have it."

"Frodo," Esmerelda said. "What if something happens to it? I don't want to-"

"Esmerelda," Frodo said seriously. "I would love for you to have this. My mother would love for you to have it, too. Please?"

Esmerelda looked down at the necklace and smiled. It really was beautiful, and Esmerelda was never one to turn down something so beautiful. She looked at Frodo and nodded, and Frodo smiled. Frodo held his hand out and Esmerelda handed him the necklace. Esmerelda held her hair up as Frodo came behind her, putting the necklace on her. When it was fastened, Esmerelda put her hair down and Frodo just looked at her. She looked beautiful with that necklace on her, even more beautiful than ever before.

He was reminded of his mother, reminded of how she always looked when she wore that necklace. When Frodo was a baby, he was always enticed with it and would try to pull it from his mother's neck, wanting to have it all to himself. His mother would always take it off before holding Frodo, for she didn't want Frodo to break the chain by pulling it off. When his parents drowned, Frodo inherited all of his mother's jewelry, even though she didn't have very much. She was buried in her wedding ring and most of her other jewelry, so that didn't leave very much. The heart necklace, though, was her most prized jewel, and Esmerelda was Frodo's. It only seemed fitting to give it to her.

"Thank you," Esmerelda whispered.

"It was no problem," Frodo said. "You look stunning with it on."

"You think so?" Esmerelda asked.

"No," Frodo said with a smile. "I know so."

Esmerelda giggled, and smiled at Frodo. Frodo looked a little sad, though, and Esmerelda didn't know why. It was when a few tears started to flow down his cheeks that Esmerelda asked what was wrong.

"It's just…" Frodo said, wiping a few tears from his eyes. "You look so much like my mother when you wear that. I-I mean you do not have her hair color or anything, but…you just remind me so much of her. I miss her so much every day, and Dad, too."

Esmerelda reached over and took Frodo into her arms, hugging him tight. "I know you do, love. I know you do. I miss my father every passing day as well."

"Uncle Bilbo was the best guardian I could ask for," Frodo sobbed, "but he wasn't my father or my mother. I was so angry and I was so upset and I just wanted to know why they would leave me like they did. I was still a little lad, I still needed my parents. I was filled with rage over what happened to them and why they would leave me all alone. I felt, and still feel, bad about feeling the way I did."

"Shh," Esmerelda soothed. "I felt the same way after my dad died, too. It is perfectly normal to feel that way."

Frodo looked up at her and smiled. "Thanks, love. I'm sorry for this."

"Don't be," Esmerelda said, wiping his tears away with her thumb and kissing his hair. "There is no need to be sorry over what you feel."

They spent the rest of the afternoon reminiscing about their parents. There were tears shed, laughs shared, and embraces done, and both of them felt better to talk about it. They felt closer than ever, and when they went to Esmerelda's house, they found Lily knitting in the living room.

"Hello, dear children," Lily said, smiling at them. "Did the two of you-"

When Lily saw the necklace hanging from Esmerelda's neck, she dropped her knitting into her lap. A few tears formed in her eyes as she got up, walking over to her daughter. She took the jeweled heart in her fingers, turning it over.

"Primula's necklace," Lily said, a tear spilling onto her cheek. "I remember how she adored this necklace. She loved Drogo so very much, and Drogo loved her."

Frodo smiled sadly at Lily, and Esmerelda just looked down at her mother's hand turning the necklace. She dropped her hand and looked over at Frodo, giving him a sympathetic smile.

"I'm sorry, my dear young lad," Lily said. "An old woman such as myself has her memories."

"It is perfectly alright," Frodo told her.

Lily excused herself and left the home. Frodo and Esmerelda laid together in front of the fire, cuddling and whispering. They fell asleep like that and slept all night. Belladonna arrived home and went into Esmerelda's room, getting the blanket from her bed and covering the two of them up, smiling at the adorable image in front of her eyes.

Another week since Esmerelda and Frodo had declared their love. They had been together for a little over a month now, more in love than ever. However, this was the time that would change both of them–and the course of events–for the rest of their lives.

Esmerelda and Frodo had been sitting by the fire at Bag End, wrapped up in a blanket and cuddling. They were being cute and romantic together, whispering sweet nothings in each other's ears, laughing, kissing...when there came a loud knock on the door.

"I will see who that is," Frodo said, kissing Esmerelda and then getting up to answer the door.

Frodo walked over to the door and opened it. He gasped in shock and surprise when he saw who was standing there.

"G-Gandalf?" Frodo stammered.

Esmerelda turned around at those words to see if she surely hadn't imagined it. Sure enough, there stood Gandalf, ducking low so that he could enter the home without hitting his head. Frodo looked increasingly pale and a little sick at his presence. Esmerelda wondered what on Earth was going on.

"Esmerelda," Gandalf greeted her with a warm, tender smile. "I'm afraid you must go home. Frodo and I have some business to attend to."

"Of–of course," Esmerelda said, getting up and walking over to Frodo.

He looked terrified and so worried that it made Esmerelda's stomach roil horribly. Of course, it had been doing this for quite some time, so it wasn't the worry that was making her feel sick. However, she was confused and scared as to why Frodo looked like he did. He never, ever looked like this, for he always looked happy, joyful, and full of life and love.

"See you later, love," Esmerelda said, giving him a quick kiss. "I love you."

"I love you, too," Frodo said, pulling her into a bigger, longer kiss. Esmerelda felt a little embarrassed, for Gandalf was standing right there. "I love you so, so much, my dear Esmerelda Burrows."

The way he said that scared Esmerelda nearly to death, because he sounded on the verge of tears, but she didn't press any further. She departed Bag End and set on her way home. Her stomach did another sickening flop halfway there, and she wondered what was wrong with her. Perhaps she ate something that didn't settle well?

After a little while, Esmerelda felt the dreaded thing coming fast. She ran immediately behind an old abandoned building and was violently sick. When she was finished, her stomach felt a little better, but not too much. She didn't know what was wrong with her, but it was definitely something, that much was clear.

When Esmerelda reached her home, she walked inside quietly. She peaked in on her mother and sister, who were both fast asleep in their bedrooms. Esmerelda cleaned her teeth and mouth, then changed into her nightgown. She was far more tired than she originally believed herself to be, but she lay awake in her candle lit room, turning over Frodo's worried expression over and over again in her mind and wondering what was bothering him so much about Gandalf being there. They, especially Frodo, were always glad to see Gandalf. Why was Frodo so frightened of him?

Esmerelda felt her stomach do another flop and she got up and ran outside, just in time. She leaned over the fence into the weeds and was sick again, but this time wasn't as bad as the last.

"My child," Lily said from behind her. "What is wrong? Are you ill?"

"Yes, mother," Esmerelda said, leaning over again but only heaving this time. "I haven't an idea as to why."

"Do you have a fever?" Lily asked, walking over to her and feeling her forehead. She answered her own question by saying, "No. No fever. What have you eaten today?"

Esmerelda told her, and Lily contemplated, shaking her head. "It couldn't have been any of that. Perhaps it's just a little stomach complaint. You'll be prim and proper by morning."

"I hope so," Esmerelda said. "Sorry I awoke you."

"No need to apologize, darling," Lily said, putting her arm around her daughter as they walked back into the house. "I wasn't sleeping too well to being with. I just have this feeling as if something bad is going to happen soon."

That made Esmerelda stop dead. "Wh-what?"

"Are you alright, sweetheart?" Lily asked.

"It's just–" Esmerelda said. "Frodo, tonight...he looked so frightened when Gandalf came to see him, and–and he never looks that way, mother. I'm scared and I'm worried."

"Aw, don't think such things, child," Lily said, pulling her daughter into a loving hug. "Frodo loves you so. Everything will be fine, I assure you."

"Thank you," Esmerelda said. "I'm going to return to bed now."

"So am I," Lily said with a smile. "I'm going to try and put my mind to rest."

They walked back into the house, where Esmerelda cleaned her teeth and mouth once again. When she returned to her bed, she fell asleep instantly, not giving Frodo Baggins or Gandalf another thought.


	4. Chapter 4

**PLEASE NOTE:**

**I do not own ANY of the following material. The places, events, characters, names, titles, etc. belong to their proper owners, and they get full credit. Events are fictional. Names that resemble any other individual, living or dead, is purely coincidental.**

**Any and ALL content pertaining to the 'Lord of the Rings' trilogy belongs to J.R.R. Tolkien, Peter Jackson, and any other holders of the rights. All rights reserved to them and them only. NO COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT IS INTENDED!**

Frodo's mind was in a fog, and he didn't know how to recover it. There was just too much pain and despair there right now to even think about getting it back.

He had just finished up with Gandalf, who told him what he must do. Frodo didn't want to do it, he really, really didn't, but he had to. If he didn't, then...then very, very bad things would happen indeed. Everyone he knew and loved–including his beloved Esmerelda–would die. Not only them, either, but every man, woman, and child in Middle Earth would perish. Besides, he would have Sam with him, but...it just wasn't the same. It never would be.

He wanted to see Esmerelda, he had to see her. He hoped that someone would still be up to let him into the home, and when he approached her house and saw a candle lit in the sitting room, he knew there was. He knocked gently on the door and waited, and then he heard Lily's soft voice say, "Who is it?"

"Frodo, Mrs. Burrows," was his reply.

He waited a few minutes, and then the door opened. Lily stood there, grinning at him, and said softly, "Esmerelda is sleeping, dear. Is everything alright?"

"Yes," Frodo lied. "I was just wondering...could I spend tonight here, with Esmerelda? I just–it's just something I must do."

"You may, of course," Lily said with a warm, motherly smile. She had always viewed Frodo as another son, and was over-the-moon with joy over his romance with her daughter. "No funny business, though. I approve highly of your courtship with my daughter, but I am still her mother, after all."

Frodo smiled at her, then hugged her tightly. "Of course, Mrs. Burrows. Thank you so much for this."

"No more of this Mrs. Burrows nonsense," Lily said, pulling back to place her hands on either side of Frodo's soft face. "It's Lily or Mother from now on, you understand?"

Frodo laughed a little. "Of course, Lily."

"That's better," Lily said. "Are you sure everything is alright? I've had the worst feeling all day, and it is keeping me from sleep."

Frodo's stomach turned horribly. "I'm–I'm fine. Thank you for your concern, though."

Lily smiled at him. "Goodnight, sweet child."

"Goodnight," Frodo said, walking over to Esmerelda's bedroom door and opening it quietly.

He closed the door quietly behind him, and just admired Esmerelda in the bright moonlight shining through her window. She was snuggled deeply under her blankets, laying on her left side, her long blonde curls spread out over her white down pillows. The blankets moved up and down softly and gently as she breathed sleep, and Frodo, with tears welling in his eyes, walked over to the side of her bed that was empty and climbed beneath the blankets gently so as not to wake her. He didn't, for she just stayed asleep, one hand tucked under her cheek and the other laying down next to her. Frodo took that hand, held it to his cheek, and began to sob quietly in the moonlit bedroom. His tears fell onto her pillow and into his curls as he lay sideways, but Frodo didn't care. All he ever cared about, all he ever wanted to care about ever again, was laying asleep in front of him, and it could very well be one of the last times he would ever see her alive. He spent the remainder of the night just watching her sleep, unable to fall into his own slumber.

Esmerelda opened her eyes to a new morning. She had rolled over onto her right side at some point in the night, and she was now vaguely aware of someone laying behind her. She could feel the heat of a body behind her, so she turned around to see who had taken her bed with her.

"Frodo?" she asked sleepily as she saw him laying there, the last of his tears having dried awhile ago on his cheeks.

"My beloved Esmerelda," he whispered.

"What–what are you doing here?" she asked, rolling over fully to see him better.

"I came by last night after Gandalf had finished," Frodo said. "Your mother let me in."

Esmerelda smiled sleepily at him. "You don't look like you've slept a wink, my love."

"I haven't," he said with a sad smile. "There's just...there's just too much on my mind. I had to be with you last night, Esmerelda. I had to see you, I had to be here. I just–I had to."

"Shh," Esmerelda soothed. "Come here, love."

She held her arms out to him, and he just leaned down and rested his head on her shoulder, resting it in the crook of her neck. Esmerelda laid her cheek on the top of his head, closing her eyes as she took in that all-too-familiar sweet-musk smell of his curls.

"I cannot sleep," Frodo said, and he sounded as if he were about to cry. "I have to stay awake to see you. I have to, I just–"

"Shh," Esmerelda soothed again, kissing his hair softly. "You will see me. I will dance through your dreams, and when you awaken, I will be right here. I'm not going anywhere."

Frodo just breathed her in. She always smelled so sweet, her breath tasting of strawberries, her skin smelling of the sweetest, most beautiful flowers of the Shire, her hair smelling of honeydew. Frodo wanted her scent and taste imprinted on his memory, for it could be the last time he would ever have to savor it. So, he just laid there, closing his eyes against her neck, kissing it softly and breathing her in as he tried to fight back tears.

"What is troubling you so?" Esmerelda asked. "You don't seem like yourself, my love. What is on your mind?"

"I cannot say right now," Frodo said, and a tear slid down his cheek as he said it. "I cannot, and I'm sorry. I just wish I didn't have to–"

"Shh," Esmerelda soothed, hugging him tightly as she rocked him gently back and forth. "I'll sing to you my favorite lullaby and try to get you to fall into sleep."

Frodo nodded against her neck, and Esmerelda began to sing him her song. A few more tears slid down his cheeks as he remembered just how beautiful her voice always was when she sang. It always had a way of mesmerizing him, just like everything else about her always had a way of doing. He closed his eyes, and fell asleep in no time then. When Esmerelda felt his breathing slow, she looked down gently and saw that he was sleeping. She smiled, and, with a soft, loving kiss in his hair, fell asleep again herself. Neither of them had been aware that Lily was watching through a crack in the door, a tear sliding down her own cheek at the look of true, pure, genuine, beautiful love before her eyes.

Frodo awoke before Esmerelda did. Afternoon sun was now pouring through the window, and he got up gently. However, Esmerelda stirred awake as he did, and she smiled up at him.

"Are you leaving?" Esmerelda asked him.

"No," he said with a smile to her. "Not without you. Will you come to Bag End with me?"

"Of course," Esmerelda said, smiling, getting up, and getting dressed.

She told her mother where she was going, and she and Frodo departed for Bag End. They made love the entire afternoon and most of the night, Frodo unable to stop or get enough. Elizabeth didn't seem to mind, though, for she contributed greatly on her part each and every time. He savored and cherished every moment made, wanting this burned into his memory.

That night, Frodo held Esmerelda in his arms as she slept. He cradled her body against his own, burying his face in her hair and sobbing quietly, but painfully. To his own ears, he sounded like a wounded animal, one that was lamenting a great, horrific loss. That was exactly what was happening with him, and, at the thought of it, he began to cry harder and harder, holding her tighter against him. She didn't awaken once through all of that, and for that, Frodo was glad. He didn't want her seeing him like this, because that would lead to questions that Frodo could not answer at the present moment.

He was leaving the Shire tomorrow, and he was unsure whether or not he would ever return.

When Esmerelda awoke in Frodo's arms the next morning, she was dully aware of the sick feeling in her stomach. She jumped out of bed so fast that Frodo awoke and asked her what was the matter.

"I must leave," Esmerelda said, feeling her stomach churn with the need to be sick as she dressed. "I will return later, and that I promise you."

"What's wrong, my love?" he asked, worried.

"It's nothing you've done, I assure you," she said, walking for the door. "I will be back. Don't follow me home, okay? I will return to you in a few hours' time."

Frodo nodded sadly, and Esmerelda ran as fast as she could from Bag End. She became horribly sick behind the same abandoned building she had encountered before, and she was amazed because she hadn't eaten anything at all that day, and she barely ate anything yesterday. Why was she so sick? Why was this happening to her at various times, especially the most inconvenient ones? It didn't make any damn sense. None of it did. Until she really, really thought about it, that is.

Esmerelda was just about home when the realization of what was happening really hit her–hard. The sickness, the soreness and tenderness she had been feeling in her breasts, the way that she was smelling absolutely everything lately...and the way she hadn't bled yet. That thought was eclipsed by But maybe I'm not even due for my bleeding yet and I'm just jumping to a big, hasty conclusion, but she knew. She knew, dammit.

However, she just had to be sure before she accepted it. She ran the rest of the way home, and burst into her house. Lily had mentioned a few days ago that she would be helping a friend with some things today, and would be gone most of the day. Belladonna, however, was home, and was startled by her sister's abrupt entrance.

"Esmerelda!" Belladonna exclaimed. "What in the name of–"

But Esmerelda didn't listen. She ran into her room, where she kept the calendar parchment that kept track of her bleeding. She skimmed down through it, trying to find the date of her last cycle. She couldn't find it at first, and had to keep flipping pages to find it.

"What is going on, sister?" Belladonna asked her, standing in her bedroom doorway.

Esmerelda still didn't listen nor answer her sister. She was too fixated on finding what she needed to find, what she just had to find. She finally did, and she studied what she had written down. 13 September: Bleeds begin and 18 September: Bleeds end. Today was the thirtieth of October. I was supposed to start bleeding on the fourteenth, Esmerelda thought. The first night that Frodo and I spent together–, and she ended that thought as she dropped the calendar to the floor, her hand coming up to meet her mouth as a few tears slid down her cheeks.

"My dear sister," Belladonna asked. "What is the trouble?"

"I–" Esmerelda said, turning to face her. "Belladonna, I–I need a test."

"What kind of–" but Belladonna knew right then what she meant.

Belladonna's jaw dropped a little as more and more tears slid down her sister's cheeks. Soon, Esmerelda was sobbing loudly and openly, and Belladonna just walked over to her sister, taking her into her arms and hugging her tightly. Belladonna soothed Esmerelda, rocking her gently back and forth, back and forth, until her sobs quieted.

"Come, dear sister," Belladonna said, leading Esmerelda to where she conducted such things. "Let's get you that test now."

Esmerelda returned to Frodo that afternoon, just as she had promised, and was met with a sight that was imprinted in her mind for the longest time. He had on his traveler's cloak, and he was with Sam, who also had on his traveler's cloak and was carrying a couple of bags and things. Frodo looked up at Esmerelda arriving, and ran over to her, scooping her up in his arms as sob after sob escaped his throat.

"Hey, hey," Esmerelda soothed, smiling at him. "What's the trouble, my love?"

"I'm leaving the Shire, my beloved," he said, looking into her eyes.

Esmerelda's stomach dropped and her heart seemed to stop beating for a moment. She just stared into Frodo's eyes, adorable and beautiful even when they were pooled with big tears, and searched. She felt a few tears come to her own eyes as she asked, "What? What ever for?"

"It's–" Frodo said, but ended it on another sob. When he regained himself, he said. "It's something I must do, my dear Esmerelda. I must go. I must protect you, your mother, Belladonna, Rosie, everyone in the entire world, my love. I must."

"What is it?" Esmerelda asked, but Frodo only shook his head.

"I cannot speak of it," he said, tears falling onto his cheeks. Esmerelda was now crying herself, and she reached out to wipe the tears gently from Frodo's eyes and cheeks. "Esmerelda, I love you. I love you so, so, so much. My heart aches with such pain and despair at the thought of leaving you and–and the thought that I may never–may never re-return."

Esmerelda burst into tears at those words, and she and Frodo just held each other tightly, not wanting to let go–ever. Esmerelda asked him tearfully why he may never return, and Frodo explained to her that it was a dangerous mission, one that may claim his life. This made Esmerelda cry harder and harder, and they both stood like that for awhile, sobbing, hugging, taking in each other as they did.

"I–I love you, Frodo Baggins" Esmerelda said, smiling at him sadly, "and I will miss you deeply."

Frodo said, "I love you, too, Esmerelda Burrows. I will miss you terribly, as I do now. My dear, beloved Esmerelda. I–I want you to have this."

He reached down into a bag he had and pulled out his scarf–the one his uncle Bilbo had given him for his fourteenth birthday, to be exact. It had his initials, FB, sown in golden embroidery on one end, and it was a majestic purple. It had been made of satin, pure satin, by the finest Elves in all the world. It had once belonged to Bilbo, and Bilbo had Frodo's initials sown into it. Frodo had cherished that scarf, and it had been his favorite possession; he had told Esmerelda that many times.

"Frodo," Esmerelda breathed. "I can't take that. It's–it's your–"

"No," Frodo said. "Take it. It is now yours. Remember me, my beloved. Every time you look at it, or hold it in your hands, remember me. If I never return to you, you will have a piece of me still."

Esmerelda took the scarf from his hands, and they embraced again. They pulled apart and began to kiss passionately, and they didn't even care that Sam was standing not ten feet behind them. This was quite possibly the last time they would ever feel this, and they wanted to savor it. Esmerelda thanked her lucky stars that, after her sister gave her the test, she had cleaned her teeth again.

The test.

"Frodo," Esmerelda breathed as they pulled apart. "There is something you must know. I just want you to know that, what I'm about to tell you, I'm not using it to keep you here with me, alright?"

"Alright," Frodo said, taking her hands in his and giving them a gentle squeeze. "What is it?"

"Frodo Baggins," Esmerelda said, meeting his eyes dead on. "I'm–"

"Mr. Frodo!" Sam called from behind him. "We must go, now! We must, sir!"

"I'm sorry," Frodo said. "I want to know what you must have to say, but I have to leave. I-"

Esmerelda cut him off by giving him another kiss. They only pulled apart when Sam began calling for him again, and Frodo, without another word, walked away from her. When Frodo looked back, his eyes were swimming with huge tears again, as were Esmerelda's. Frodo blew a kiss to her on his hand, and she pretended to catch it with a sad smile, and she blew one back to him. He caught it, and held it to his heart. Then, he turned away from her and walked away until Esmerelda could no longer see him.

"–with child," Esmerelda finished her last-spoken sentence to the open, empty air with a sad, sob-shaken sigh.


	5. Chapter 5

**PLEASE NOTE:**

**I do not own ANY of the following material. The places, events, characters, names, titles, etc. belong to their proper owners, and they get full credit. Events are fictional. Names that resemble any other individual, living or dead, is purely coincidental.**

**Any and ALL content pertaining to the 'Lord of the Rings' trilogy belongs to J.R.R. Tolkien, Peter Jackson, and any other holders of the rights. All rights reserved to them and them only. NO COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT IS INTENDED!**

It had been three weeks since Frodo had departed the Shire. Esmerelda was beginning to worry her mother, sister, and Rosie immensely. Esmerelda was barely eating and she was sleeping way too much. When she wasn't sleeping, she was either sick or crying. Belladonna, though, knew the real reason why she was sick and sleeping so much, and it wasn't because of her depression. Esmerelda hadn't told Rosie or her mother about the child she was carrying in her womb yet-Frodo's child. Little did he know, when he gave her that scarf as a piece of him to remember him by, that Esmerelda had her own piece of him growing inside of her.

"My dearest sister," Belladonna told her one evening when their mother was out. "You must eat more and better than you are now. You are supplying another life within you. If you want this child to be healthy–"

Esmerelda burst into tears. Belladonna, shocked by her sister's abrupt weeping, just clapped a hand to her back gently and rubbed it lovingly as Esmerelda placed her face in her hands, her sobs growing bigger, louder, and more wounded. Belladonna took her sister into her arms, holding her, as Esmerelda sobbed onto her shoulder.

"Shh, now," Belladonna soothed as Esmerelda began to hiccup. "Shh. It's going to be alright, sweetheart. It's going to be alright."

"M-m-mother," Esmerelda hiccupped. "She–she doesn't kn-know y-yet."

"Don't fret over mother," Belladonna whispered. "She loves Frodo as her own, you know that. She is going to be overjoyed about this."

"It's n-not on-only th-that," she wept. "Fr-Frodo mi-might ne-never come b-b-back. He–"

"Shh," Belladonna soothed gently. "He will, Esmerelda. He will. Have faith in him, dear. He will love and cherish this baby, and you know it. You know how much he wants children, how he wants a wife and children so badly it hurts."

"Only when he m-married," Esmerelda sobbed against Belladonna's shoulder. "I kn-know he'd be h-h-happy to have a b-baby, but we aren't married y-yet."

"Yet," Belladonna whispered. "It does not matter, believe me."

"He may n-not w-want the res-responsibility of being a f-father y-yet," Esmerelda sobbed.

"He will," Belladonna whispered. "He will. Shh."

"I shouldn't have been so-so st-stupid!" Esmerelda wailed so loudly that it startled Belladonna. She tightened her grip on Esmerelda, rocking her back and forth gently. "I should've kn-known that doing such th-things would result in a child! It's–it's all my f-fault!"

"No, no," Belladonna said. "No. Do not blame yourself for this. You have been blinded by love for that lad since you were a little lass. You and he expressed that love for one another in a passionate way. You shouldn't be ashamed or sorry."

"I should've w-waited!" Esmerelda wailed, then ended that on another series of sobs.

Belladonna just rocked Esmerelda back and forth, back and forth, and when Esmerelda calmed down, Belladonna even talked her into eating something. Esmerelda ate what Belladonna prepared for her and even begged her to make her some more. Belladonna, with a chuckle, said that she was glad to see that Esmerelda was finally supplying both her and her baby properly.

After Esmerelda ate, she grew tired and went to lay in her bed. After changing into her nightgown, she walked over to her wardrobe and got Frodo's scarf. She laid in her bed, blew out the candles, and clutched the scarf to her chest. She then cried herself silently into a deep, deep sleep.

The next evening, Esmerelda received a surprise visitor.

She was sitting across from her home, in one of the meadows that she and Frodo would lay in together to watch the stars. She was just sitting on the ground there, staring up at the darkening sky and reminiscing, when she heard a familiar voice behind her say, "Esmerelda Burrows. I reckoned I would find you here."

Esmerelda turned around to see if her ears were deceiving her; they were not. It was Gandalf, standing directly behind her. Esmerelda smiled and got up, running over to him to give him a hug. She just barely came up past his waist.

"Gandalf," she said, looking up at him.

"It is I," Gandalf smiled, stooping down and sitting so that he was on level with Esmerelda. Esmerelda sat down next to him, looking at him with great curiosity.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, and then it hit her. Her stomach churned horribly as she said, "Oh, no. Frodo! He's not–he-he's not–"

Gandalf only chuckled heartily. "No, no, my dear! Frodo is–he's fine."

"Is he really, Gandalf?" Esmerelda asked, skeptical. "I just–I have this feeling that–"

"That is why I am here," Gandalf said. "Frodo trusts you so, and well, I do as well. He did well by not telling you where he was going and why, but that is only because I swore him to secrecy. No one has swore me, of course."

Esmerelda smiled a little, relieved that Frodo didn't withhold the information from her by his own accord. "Where is he, Gandalf?"

"You must promise me, right here, that you will not speak one word of what I tell you," Gandalf said, looking at her seriously.

"I promise, Gandalf," Esmerelda said solemnly.

"Frodo has gone on a mission for me," Gandalf said. "Well, not only for me, but for every man, woman, and child in Middle-earth. You see, years ago, Bilbo found a ring-an evil ring."

When Gandalf paused and didn't say anything more, Esmerelda said, "I'm–I'm afraid I do not understand, Gandalf. What has the Ring to do with this?"

"I told Frodo to keep that ring secret and safe until I returned to him," Gandalf said. "You see, it is the most powerful, most evil, most deceitful ring in all of existence. Its very existence puts everyone in danger, my dear. That is why he had to leave the Shire. He has to destroy this ring in order to keep you, your sister, your mother, your best friend, and everyone else safe from fatal harm. He is unsure of what is awaiting him, but I am going to assist him in the greatest ways possible."

Esmerelda had been crying at this point, and Gandalf reached over and gave her a big hug. She understood now, everything just made sense.

"What's going to happen to him?" Esmerelda asked. "An honest answer, please."

"It will take him over and try to drag him down with it," Gandalf said. "He...he won't be the same Frodo, Esmerelda. I am sorry to have to say, but it is true. Even if he returns here after its destruction, he will be changed. It will be a saddening, heart shattering change."

"I will love him still," Esmerelda said, her big eyes full of tears. "I will not cease my love for him."

"For that," Gandalf said, wiping a tear gently from her cheek, "I am very glad. I know he loves you so very much, Esmerelda Burrows, and I know you love him so, too. May I ask something of you?"

"Of course," Esmerelda said, smiling at him a little through her tears.

"Take great care of yourself," Gandalf said. "That is essential. You are providing for more than one life right now."

Esmerelda was so shocked by what he said that she gasped and froze, looking up at him through her flooded eyes. "How–how did you know?"

Gandalf only flashed her a loving smile. "A wizard always knows, dear Esmerelda."

"Please, Gandalf," Esmerelda pleaded. "You mustn't tell Frodo. I–I want him to know of his child, oh, I do, but–"

"But you do not want him distracted from his quest," Gandalf finished, and Esmerelda nodded slowly. "Do not worry. I won't speak one word of it to him. It will be our little secret, how does that sound?"

"It sounds very good," Esmerelda said, then began to cry all over again.

"Frodo will be just fine," Gandalf soothed, putting an arm around her shoulder. His hand took up most of her upper arm. "He will return safely to you."

"Do you honestly believe that?" Esmerelda asked.

Gandalf didn't answer.

Esmerelda returned home that night and went immediately to her bed. She barely left it for three days after, crying, turning over what Gandalf had told her in her mind. Rosie would come over to stay with her, worried sick of her best friend's behavior. It was okay, though, because Rosie was crying with her, concerned over Samwise. They would both talk about their loves, reminiscing about their childhoods with them, and would just hug and cry all over again.

"Rosie," Esmerelda told her on the second night of her three-night sobbing episode. "There is something you must know. Belladonna knows, but my mother does not. I am going to tell her, and I will soon, it's just–you need to know."

"What is it?" Rosie asked. "Is everything alright?"

"I don't know," Esmerelda said, tears falling down her delicate porcelain cheeks.

"Speak it to me," Rosie urged.

"Rosie," Esmerelda said. "I am with child. Frodo's child."

"You–what?" Rosie asked, a smile forming on her lips. "Oh, Esmerelda! I am so happy for you two!"

"Shh!" Esmerelda said. "Mother is just outside!"

"Sorry," Rosie said, bringing her voice down to a whisper as she said, "Frodo Baggins is going to be a father? It's just so exciting!"

Esmerelda began to sob again. Rosie just hugged her tightly, soothing her.

"Will he be happy, Rosie?" she asked between sobs. "I am not too sure."

"What ever do you mean?" Rosie asked. "Of course he will be! You know how horribly he's wanted children of his own!"

"After marriage," Esmerelda said.

"Do not worry," Rosie asked. "I, Belladonna, and your mother will help you with this baby until he returns. He and Sam will return, I just know it."

"I miss Frodo so much," Esmerelda sobbed. "I miss him, I–"

"Shh," Rosie soothed. "I miss Sam, too. Shh."

"What if this child grows up without its father?" Esmerelda sobbed. "What if this child never knows just how truly wonderful and great its father was? What if Frodo–"

"Do not speak such things," Rosie said. "This child will know its father, and its father will know it. They will love one another, and you know it, Esmerelda. You know it."

"Frodo is the love of my life," Esmerelda sobbed. "If he doesn't return, I shall never love another."

"Shh," Rosie said, and just held her best friend until Esmerelda wore herself out sobbing and fell deeply asleep.

The next morning, after Rosie left, Lily came into her daughter's room to bring her some breakfast. Lily refused to leave the room until Esmerelda ate, and Esmerelda did so without having to be told twice. She was absolutely famished, and remembered what Gandalf had told her. She had listened to him, and was eating properly and taking care of herself–and the baby–in the best way she knew how.

After she had finished eating, her mother turned to take the empty tray back to the kitchen when Esmerelda said, "Mother. Wait."

"Is everything alright, dear?" she asked, turning around to face her daughter.

A few tears slid down Esmerelda's cheeks, and Lily sat the tray down on the chest that sat at the end of Esmerelda's bed. She knew her mother would probably be disappointed in her daughter for participating in such acts without having been married first but...she couldn't hide this from her forever. Her mother had to know, and it had to be soon.

"Mother," she said as Lily sat down on the bed next to her daughter, "there is something you have to know, and I regret keeping it from you for so long."

"Yes?" Lily asked, with a small smile.

"I'm with child," Esmerelda said so low that Lily didn't hear her.

"What, my child?" Lily said. "I did not hear you."

"I am carrying the child of Frodo Baggins within my womb," Esmerelda said a little louder, and her mother looked as if she had just been slapped across the face.

Esmerelda braced herself for her mother's shouting, but it did not come. She just sat there, looking at her daughter, a stunned look on her face. After a few minutes, though, Lily's eyes filled with tears and she smiled at her daughter.

"Frodo's babe lives within you?" Lily asked, and Esmerelda nodded. "Then I am incredibly happy, my child."

"You're–what?" Esmerelda asked, shocked, her mouth hanging open. "I thought you would be disappointed. This is a pleasant surprise."

"If it were anyone else's but his, I would be," Lily said, tucking a strand of Esmerelda's hair behind her ear. "Frodo is a wonderful person, and he is so good to and for you. A piece of him dwells within you."

"Thank you," Esmerelda said, more tears pouring down her cheeks. "Thank you so much, mother. It means the world to have your support."

Esmerelda never, ever left Frodo's mind or dreams, not even for one second. At least, that's how it was at first.

He had just awoken from a nice slumber one morning, the best one he had in quite some time, and saw Pippin, Sam, and Merry looking at him. They smiled when he awoke fully and sat up.

"You miss her, don't you?" Pippin asked, sliding over to him and putting an arm around him.

"I do," Frodo answered. "I miss her very much."

"I hope someday to know a love like this," Merry said.

Frodo smiled at Merry, and said, "I will always see my Esmerelda as I had the last night we were together. She is so beautiful, and perfect, and my heart aches when I wake up and find that she's nowhere near."

"You will return to the Shire and to her," Pippin said.

"–and you will take her as your wife," Merry finished.

"–and have the most beautiful, perfect, blue-eyed babes in all of the Shire," Sam concluded.

"I hope so," Frodo said, a sad smile hanging from his lips. "I very sincerely hope so."

Eight months came and went in absolutely no time whatsoever. At least that's how it seemed to Esmerelda.

Belladonna was giving Esmerelda great pre-natal care for her growing child, and she was so grateful to have Belladonna around to do it. It was awkward, what with Belladonna being her sister and all, but Belladonna assured her that he seen this kind of thing all the time, and they were both women like every other woman in the world. They were also in full agreement that Belladonna would be the one to bring the child into the world when it was ready to come into it. Esmerelda's stomach had gotten so much bigger, of course, and the baby had been moving around in there for a little over three months now. She would smile huge every time she felt it kick, squirm, or move around.

"Hey, you," she said to her stomach one evening as she stood right across from Bag End, which had sat empty for nearly nine months now. "We're at your daddy's home now. This is where you will be living someday if he–when he returns to us."

She felt the baby kick one of her ribs appreciatively, something that was utterly painful, but Esmerelda didn't mind. Its kicking indicated that it was a healthy babe, and that's all Esmerelda wanted. She smiled at her stomach, a tear sliding down her cheek.

"You were made in there, you know," Esmerelda said, rubbing her stomach gently and lovingly. "Your father and I conceived you in that very house. You're going to love him so much, and I know he's going to love you, too. You just have to wait before you can meet him, though, alright?"

The baby gently kicked again. Esmerelda looked down at her stomach again and felt bittersweet heartache. A part of Frodo was growing inside of her womb, a living memory of the first night they had made love. There wasn't a day that went by where she didn't think about him. His smile, his eyes, his everything, always invaded her memory, even the little things, such as how he drank his tea, the way he had different types of smiles for any kind of event or emotion, and the way he would sometimes rub his nose nonchalantly as he read.

The memories caused Esmerelda to shed a mixture of happy and sad tears: Happy, because she was glad they had the opportunity to share one another in a physical, romantic way, and sad, because she missed that and she missed Frodo. Every day that passed by, she only loved and missed him that much more. When she looked at her stomach, she was reminded of it all at once, and sometimes it was so overwhelming that she would just burst into tears. She was doing better, though. She wasn't crying as much as she had been, and had instead been smiling at the prospect of her ever-looming motherhood.

"He is alive, you know," Esmerelda told her stomach. "Your father. Wherever he is, I just know he is alive. I was unsure at first, but now I know. My heart still feels strongly toward it. I only wish I could've told him about you before he had to leave.

"Did you know that I first met your father right there, in that very house? We were both just tiny little babes, and our parents had brought us here to Bilbo's to play together. This is where it all began. It kind of comes full circle, doesn't it?"

Esmerelda stroked her stomach again, and continued. "Your father and I always pick berries together at the first of spring. We have since we were both wee little, you know. We walk for hours and hours and hours, just picking, talking, laughing, glad to be with each other. Someday...someday, maybe we'll take you along when you're old enough. Who knows? Perhaps Sam and Rosie will get married and have a little child of their own someday that you will fall in love with, just as your father and I did. Maybe–maybe you'll do all the same things we did, and–"

Esmerelda began to cry at that moment. Esmerelda rubbed her belly, crying harder and looking over at Bag End through her tears.

"I just wish he were here right now," Esmerelda said to her baby. "He should be here, basking in this with me. He should be here, talking to you as I am now. He should be here to meet you as soon as you take your first breath in this world. He should be–"

Esmerelda cut off with more sobs, and when she got herself under control and calm, she said, "I know that is selfish of me, but I can't help it. You are his child as much as you are mine. Your father is an incredible man. He will be so happy to meet you and he will love you so, just as I love you so."

The baby kicked.


	6. Chapter 6

**PLEASE NOTE:**

**I do not own ANY of the following material. The places, events, characters, names, titles, etc. belong to their proper owners, and they get full credit. Events are fictional. Names that resemble any other individual, living or dead, is purely coincidental.**

**Any and ALL content pertaining to the 'Lord of the Rings' trilogy belongs to J.R.R. Tolkien, Peter Jackson, and any other holders of the rights. All rights reserved to them and them only. NO COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT IS INTENDED!**

"How about...Pearl for a girl?" Rosie had asked.

She and Esmerelda were sitting under the great Party Tree, Esmerelda rubbing her belly and Rosie looking out beyond the field in contemplation. They had been going over perfect baby names for the child, and were trying to narrow it down to just one.

"Pearl Baggins..." Esmerelda said, thinking it over. "I like it. What else have you got?"

"Angelica," Rosie said.

"Angelica Baggins," Esmerelda said, repeating it again and again. "I really love that one, too."

"I do not have many girls' names," Rosie said with a smile. "For a boy, I have Andwise or Largo."

"I love those as well," Esmerelda said, "but I already decided on a name if I have a son."

"What is your name?" Rosie asked.

Esmerelda looked at her friend, and, with a smile, said, "Frodo Baggins II. I'm naming him after his beautiful father."

Rosie smiled at her best friend, then reached over to place a hand on her stomach. "Frodo Baggins II. Now that one I love."

"Rosie," Esmerelda said, turning to her best friend, "I know of things that can go wrong during the process of birth. If something were to happen to me–"

"Esmerelda Burrows," Rosie said, giving her friend a serious look. "You do not speak in such ways!"

"Just listen to me, Rosie," Esmerelda said. "Please? Would you?"

Rosie nodded, and Esmerelda continued. "If something were to happen to me in childbirth, I want you, my mother, and Belladonna to give this child the greatest care imaginable. When Frodo returns, I want you to tell him that I am so sorry that I didn't tell him sooner. Tell him I was going to the day he left. If he does not want this child in his life, I want you to raise it as your own. If he does want it, then let him raise it. Make sure, if it is a son, that he gets the name that I just mentioned, no matter what the circumstances are. If I bear a daughter, I want her to be named Angelica. Do you understand me?"

Rosie just nodded.

Another month came and went. Rosie and Esmerelda were both working at the Green Dragon one night, and Esmerelda had been having contractions on and off all evening. However, Belladonna warned her of something called "false labor" that could occur anywhere from two months to two days before the actual labor. Belladonna told Esmerelda that it felt a lot like labor, but not to worry, for she wouldn't actually go into labor. Besides, her due date was still a week off. Today was June seventh, and she wasn't due until June the fourteenth. That's what Belladonna calculated from Esmerelda's date of conception, anyway.

Esmerelda was wiping glasses behind the bar when a strong contraction hit. She nearly dropped the glass, and sat down on the stool that Rosie had brought to her to sit on when they hit. She just sat there, doing the breathing exercise that Belladonna had taught her until they passed. Everyone in the Shire would stare at Esmerelda when she walked by, her now fully-grown belly being the talk among everyone. "It's that Baggins' lad's babe," "Didn't she know what would happen by laying with a man before marriage?" and you name it. Esmerelda didn't care; she knew who the father was and she was happy about becoming the mother to his baby. She had dreamed of it since she was a girl.

"Go home, sweetheart," Rosie whispered when she walked over to Esmerelda, who had just experienced yet another contraction not quite fifteen minutes after her last one. "I will close up."

"I'm fine," Esmerelda assured her. "I'm not due to give birth until next week. It's just false labor. Belladonna warned me this could happen."

Rosie gave her a concerned look, but resumed working. Esmerelda didn't experience any more contractions until closing time. Then they started coming on every five minutes or so.

"I'm walking you home tonight," Rosie said. "The way you're contracting...I think the baby may be getting ready to come."

"Not this soon," Esmerelda assured.

They finished closing, and Rosie helped Esmerelda out the door. Esmerelda was almost screaming in pain from how the contractions were going now, and she could barely stand. Rosie put one of Esmerelda's arms around her neck and helped her walk. They were nearly to her home when Esmerelda gasped in shock and partly fear.

"What's wrong?" Rosie asked. "Is everything–"

"My water just broke," Esmerelda gasped. "I'm–I'm going into labor."

Esmerelda then began to scream in pain. Rosie grabbed her arm that was around her neck and began to move her fast toward the house. When they reached it, Rosie burst in and Belladonna and Lily were sitting in the living room, reading by candlelight.

"She's in labor," Rosie said frantically. "She just went in."

Belladonna got up immediately and began scrambling around in her 'office.' Esmerelda let out another agonizing yell as the baby began moving its way down. Belladonna took out a bag of supplies and a blanket to lay under her sister. She took it into Esmerelda's room, lit a bunch of candles so that the room was bright enough to see, and prepared the bed for her as Lily and Rosie grabbed onto Esmerelda and lead her in there. They helped Esmerelda out of her dress and helped her get into another gown that Belladonna had given them. When they had Esmerelda dressed, Belladonna reentered the room.

"Help lay her down gently onto the bed," Belladonna instructed them. "I'm going to check to make sure she is dilated enough to start delivery."

Lily and Rosie did as they were told, and once Esmerelda was laid down, Belladonna pushed the dress up and checked her. Esmerelda let out an agonizing scream as she felt more pain, and Belladonna looked up at Esmerelda and nodded.

"It's time, dear sister," Belladonna told Esmerelda. "It's time to meet this beautiful child."

"Mother," Esmerelda said, looking up at her mother with tears in her eyes. "Do not leave me. Please. I'm–I'm frightened."

"I would never think of it," Lily said, smiling and leaning down to give her daughter a motherly kiss on her forehead. "It will all be alright, my darling."

"Rosie, do not leave either," Esmerelda begged. "Please. I need you both."

"I will be right here," Rosie assured her with a smile. "You just worry about bringing Frodo's child to us."

Esmerelda listened to the rest of the instructions that Belladonna had given her. Belladonna also asked Rosie to stand behind her, in case anything would go wrong.

When she stood behind Belladonna, she looked at Esmerelda and gave her a sad, but loving, smile.

Esmerelda felt a contraction hit full-force and she pushed–and screamed. She grabbed onto her mother's hand and squeezed as she pushed, pain searing throughout her entire body. She laid back down on the bed, doing the breathing exercise that Belladonna taught her. She felt another contraction hit and she pushed again, screaming at the top of her lungs in sheer pain as she squeezed her mother's hand again.

"You're doing great, sweetheart," Belladonna said to Esmerelda. "You're doing wonderfully."

"Momma," Esmerelda gasped. She hadn't called her mother that in years. "Momma, I'm-I'm–"

That was cut off by another contraction. Repeating the process, Esmerelda began to sweat, the pain overtaking her body. She was gasping in pain, she was sweating, and she could feel the babe going lower and lower in her pelvis. It wouldn't be much longer, and then she would be holding that child in her arms.

"Esmerelda," Belladonna said urgently. "Stop pushing. Do not push until I instruct you to, do you understand me?"

"What?" Esmerelda asked, suddenly alarmed. "What is wrong? My baby, what is wrong with my–"

"Shh," Belladonna said. "It's not the baby, the baby is fine. You need to stop pushing right now."

"Belladonna," Lily said, alarm in her own voice. "What is happening?"

"Esmerelda," Belladonna said. "You're beginning to bleed, and it is a greater amount than it should be. I need to get it contained before you push anymore or else you will bleed to death before this child takes its first breath."

Esmerelda looked up at Rosie, who looked scared and pale. "Rosie, how much blood am I losing?"

"Enough," Rosie said, meeting Esmerelda's eyes.

After a little bit, Belladonna controlled the bleeding. She instructed Esmerelda to push again, and she did, her pain-filled screams echoing all around the room. Lily left the room briefly to get a cool rag for her daughter, and when she returned, she wiped Esmerelda's sweat-covered forehead with it.

"Momma," Esmerelda cried, tears streaming down her cheeks. "Am–am I going to die?"

Lily caressed her daughter's cheek softly. "No, dear. Do not think that way. You're going to be just fine."

"I need you to push for me," Belladonna instructed. "Push!"

Esmerelda pushed hard and could feel the baby right there now. Rosie smiled up at her and said, "It's coming, Esmerelda !"

"Push!" Belladonna cried. "Hard!"

Esmerelda pushed harder than she had all evening and screamed louder and more painfully than ever. It gave Lily the chills at just how painful it sounded, and she was brought back to when she delivered her own children. She knew that all-too-familiar pain, and pitied her daughter.

"Just a few more!" Belladonna cried. "Push!"

Esmerelda pushed, shoved, sweated, and screamed until she began to feel dizzy. She wondered why she was so dizzy and felt so faint, but she figured it was just the birth process. Belladonna instructed Esmerelda to push one last time and she did. That's when she heard her child crying and screaming loudly, and a smile formed itself on her lips.

"It's a boy," Belladonna said, clipping the umbilical cord, "and he seems very healthy."

"A son?" Esmerelda asked, dazed. "I have–I have–"

"Esmerelda, do not move," Belladonna urged, handing the bloody child to Rosie, who took it with a look of fear on her face as she looked down at Esmerelda. "You are losing so much blood! You stay with us, Esmerelda! Please hold on!"

Esmerelda heard Lily and Rosie begin to panic and she heard her son crying, and she was also dimly aware of Belladonna working on trying to get the severe hemorrhaging mended. However, that's all Esmerelda was aware of before she felt the waves wash over her. She let them take her down, and soon, she had slipped away.


	7. Chapter 7

**PLEASE NOTE:**

**I do not own ANY of the following material. The places, events, characters, names, titles, etc. belong to their proper owners, and they get full credit. Events are fictional. Names that resemble any other individual, living or dead, is purely coincidental.**

**Any and ALL content pertaining to the 'Lord of the Rings' trilogy belongs to J.R.R. Tolkien, Peter Jackson, and any other holders of the rights. All rights reserved to them and them only. NO COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT IS INTENDED!**

Frodo awoke with a startling jolt and a scream. He knew where he was, he knew his quest to destroy the Ring had been over for a couple of months, but...that wasn't the problem. There was something wrong, there was something horribly, horribly wrong. He felt it in the pit of his gut.

His heart was aching and he didn't know why. His heart felt empty, it felt pitted, and it felt...sad. Nothing had happened recently to make him feel this way, and nothing was going to happen that he knew of...but that wasn't it.

Something bad had already happened, and it involved Esmerelda. He didn't know how he knew, but he knew. He just knew.

"Mr. Frodo?" Sam asked, stepping into the room he was staying in. "Is everything quite okay?"

"I do not think so, Sam," Frodo replied a tear cascading down one of his soft cheeks. "There's something wrong with Esmerelda. I'm not too sure what it is, or how I know, but something is terribly wrong."

"Would you like me to tell Gandalf?" Sam asked. "Perhaps he could drop in, see if everything is okay?"

"I would appreciate that very much," Frodo said. "Thank you, Sam."

"No need to thank me," Sam told him with a small smile, leaving the room.

Frodo didn't fall back into sleep at all that night. He laid in his bed and watched the sun rise, his stomach turning with worry and fear over what had happened to his beloved Esmerelda.

Esmerelda's eyes fluttered open as she turned her head weakly. The sun was just beginning to rise, and she was dimly aware of someone sitting next to her. She turned her head again and saw her mother sitting there.

"Hey, baby girl," Lily said, wiping her daughter's forehead with a cool cloth.

"What happened?" Esmerelda mumbled.

"You lost so much blood," Lily said. "We were sure you had left us when you lost consciousness. Belladonna saved your life, but you developed a horrible infection and now you're highly fevered from it."

Esmerelda had only been vaguely aware that she was sweating horribly and that she was burning up. She squeezed her eyes shut and winced at the horrible pain she felt between her legs. She then looked over at her mother and saw Frodo sitting there. A huge smile splayed across her weak lips.

"Frodo, my love," Esmerelda whispered.

"Dear, Frodo's not around," Lily said to her daughter.

"Fr-Frodo," Esmerelda gasped. "Frodo."

"Frodo's–" Lily began, but Esmerelda didn't stop. It's the fever, Lily thought. She's delirious and she's hallucinating.

"I'm so sorry, my handsome, beautiful prince," Esmerelda gasped. "I'm–I'm sorry."

"For what?" Lily had to ask.

"For not telling you about your baby," Esmerelda gasped. "For–for not letting you know I was carrying your s-son. I'm s- I'm s- I'm s-s–"

Esmerelda then lost consciousness due to the fever. Lily then realized what was happening. Frodo had departed before Esmerelda had the chance to tell him about his child. Lily had believed for awhile now that Frodo was long-since dead, but she didn't want to say that to Esmerelda, who loved him so much and who still held hope that he was alive. Lily felt her heart swell up with sadness, and she began to cry.

Rosie was sleeping on a cot in the living room, and Belladonna was in her room sleeping, so Lily walked over to the cradle in Esmerelda's room where her grandson lay. Lily picked him up and he began to cry, but Lily quieted him gently, rocking him in Esmerelda's rocking chair, until he fell back asleep. He had his father's eyes and hair color, and even had his lips and nose. He was the spitting image of baby Frodo Baggins, even Lily could not deny that. She remembered Frodo as a baby, and this is exactly how he had looked. The very Frodo who would never know his son, never get to hold him like this, watch him grow and marry & have his own children someday.

Lily began to weep silently, looking over at her ill daughter and down at the unearthly-beautiful child she had brought into this world hours before.

It had been two days since Esmerelda gave birth to her son, and for two days she was laying with a fever while an infection made its way through her body. Belladonna checked her three times daily and was giving her medicine to help with the infection and the fever, but it wasn't helping. Esmerelda kept slipping in and out of consciousness, and when she awoke she was sweating, delirious, and in a severe amount of pain. She still hadn't been able to even see or hold her son since his birth, because she was just far too ill and weak.

On the second night, Belladonna announced to Rosie and Lily with tears running down her cheeks: "I'm afraid it has gotten out of my control. I have tried everything but she is not responding to it at all. I'm going to keep trying my hardest but...but I do not see her making it through to see another day. She is worsening and it's happening very rapidly."

Lily and Rosie burst into tears, and Belladonna joined them. The three of them hugged tightly, weeping and lamenting over the loss of Esmerelda. They didn't want to imagine it, and they never thought it would happen, but here it was. Esmerelda was dying, and the three of them had tried to deny it for two days. Now, however, they were presented with the truth, the stone-cold reality. They would lose her, and her baby would grow up without its mother–and possibly even its father.

The baby began to cry in Esmerelda's room, and Rosie broke apart from them to go and get him. She found Esmerelda still out cold in her bed, her chest barely heaving up and down from her slumber. Esmerelda looked so pale and so sick, and so unlike Rosie's best friend that Rosie felt great sadness and pity swelling in her heart. Rosie picked up the babe and held him in her arms. They had been feeding him small amounts of slightly warm milk until Esmerelda recovered enough to nurse him, but...but now it didn't seem as if she would ever recover.

"You are so beautiful," Rosie said to the crying child. "Don't cry, little Frodo. Rest your little eyes and lay your little head. We all love you so much, sweetheart. You are so very loved, and I know your Momma loves you, too."

The baby kept wailing and screaming, so Rosie carried him out to the living room and sat on a rocking chair, rocking him gently. Lily and Belladonna watched Rosie and the baby as Rosie hummed him a gentle lullaby as she rocked him. The baby looked up at Rosie with those eyes of his, blue just like Frodo's, but full of tears. The baby began to quiet down as Rosie hummed the lullaby to him, and he just looked up at her, his tiny hands reaching out to grab something that wasn't there. Rosie held out one of her fingers, and the baby grabbed hold of it weakly. Rosie began to cry harder, but kept rocking the child until he fell into a deep sleep. Lily and Belladonna just looked at them throughout all of that, crying themselves.

Suddenly, there was a gentle rapping on the door. Lily walked over to answer it, and gasped in surprise at who was standing there. Rosie and Belladonna looked to see who it was, and were in shock themselves.

"Gandalf," they all said together.

"May I?" Gandalf asked, stopping low so that he was on level with them.

"You may, of course," Lily said, stepping aside so that Gandalf could enter the small home.

Gandalf stooped even lower and entered the home. He looked over at Rosie and saw the tiny bundle in her arms, which was wrapped up in blankets and was sleeping soundly. He looked at Rosie and saw that she, along with Belladonna and Lily, had been crying.

"May I?" Gandalf asked, holding his arms out to Rosie.

Rosie nodded, and gently got up from the chair and walked over to Gandalf. She placed the baby into his arms gently so as not to wake him, and Gandalf just looked down at the sleeping child, a smile on his lips. The child was so tiny; baby hobbits were absolutely adorable, he found, just because of how small they were.

"He looks quite like his father," Gandalf observed. "Where is Esmerelda? She is why I am here."

"She's resting," Belladonna answered. "She nearly bled to death after bringing that sweet child into the world two nights ago. She is laying, ravaged with fever and infection. The rate it's spreading, she will have passed by morning."

"Oh, no," Gandalf said softly and sadly, looking down at the child. "Poor, dear, little Frodo. He is the reason I am here."

"Frodo is alive?" Lily asked, her eyes widening with a joyous wonder.

"He is quite alive, yes," Gandalf said with a smile. "He will not be returning home for quite some time, however, but he is alive."

"Sam?" Rosie asked. "What of Sam?"

"He is alive and well, dear Rose Cotton," Gandalf said.

Rosie smiled, and a few happy tears slid down her cheeks. "Frodo will return to his son, but not his love. He–"

"You mustn't tell Esmerelda of this," Gandalf said. "If she believes him to be dead, then she won't want to hold on for so long believing he is still here. If you want her suffering to end, you must let her depart. It will be difficult, but you must."

Lily said, "I know. Would you like to see her one last time?"

"I would," Gandalf said, handing the child to Lily and walking into Esmerelda's room. She was awake.

"Gandalf?" Esmerelda asked, dazed and so weak that her speech was barely audible. "Am I–am I dreaming or hallucinating?"

"You are not," Gandalf said, stooping on his knees by her bed and looking at her.

He was glad that Frodo wasn't here to see this, because she truly did look as though she was knocking at death's door. Her beautiful oceanic eyes, which once held so much sparkle and life, looked drained and dead, her blonde curls were coated in sweat, there were dark circles under her eyes, and her fair skin was now almost translucently pale. Gandalf reached out his hand with a smile, and Esmerelda took it weakly. Gandalf could feel the high burning of fever, even in her hands. He had to fight back tears.

"Where is Frodo?" Esmerelda asked. "Where is my love?"

"He is not with me, I'm afraid," Gandalf told her.

"I'll join him by morning," Esmerelda said, a few tears sliding down her cheeks. "I will join him in death. We–we'll hold hands and snuggle in the fields just like before. I am happy to be with him, but what of my son? My son needs me, Gandalf. My son–my son-my-my–"

"Shh, now," Gandalf soothed. "You save your strength."

"Gandalf," Esmerelda said. "If Frodo is still around, by any chance, will you give him something from me?"

"What is that?" Gandalf asked.

"In my jewel box over there," Esmerelda said, pointing weakly to a wooden box on her desk, "is a long pink ribbon. He always loved it when I wore that in my hair. Can you–can you give that to him for me?"

"I would be honored to," Gandalf said, practically crawling over to the box and removing the ribbon. He tucked it into his robe pocket, then crawled back over to her. He took out a small phial of liquid, then said, "I want you to drink this for me, alright? It may help make you well."

"I do not want to live in this world if my dear Frodo is in it no longer," Esmerelda whispered softly. "I want to be with him again."

"You will, Esmerelda, you will," Gandalf said. "Just drink."

Esmerelda looked at the phial, then took it in her weak hands. Gandalf took out the stopper and held Esmerelda's head up so that she could drink. She drank it all, a velvety, sweet, berry-like fluid, and laid back in the bed, gasping for breath as she passed out yet again. Gandalf, holding his head in despair and realizing that it must not have worked, got up and left the room.

"I will not speak a word of the child to Frodo," Gandalf told Belladonna, Lily, and Rosie. "I will allow him to discover that for himself. I must be going now."

Gandalf left the house, and Rosie, Belladonna, and Lily walked into Esmerelda's room. Lily laid the baby in his cradle and walked over to her daughter. Belladonna lifted Esmerelda's dress up and checked between her legs again to see how the infection was doing, and, as she suspected, it was growing increasingly worse every time she checked. Esmerelda's eyes fluttered open and she looked at the three of them, tears now running down her cheeks.

"I know of my fate," Esmerelda whispered. "I know of how I shall frolic with my beloved Frodo once more if he dwells in the afterlife. Take care of my babe. Please take care of him."

"We will," Belladonna said tearfully. "We will."

"Rosie," Esmerelda said, looking at her. "Remember what I told you."

"I do," Rosie said, tears running down her cheeks. "I do, sweetheart."

"Momma," Esmerelda said, looking up at her mother and smiling weakly. "Momma, you were the best mother any girl could ever have wanted. Please give that to my little son. Raise him as you raised Belladonna and me."

Lily was sobbing as she said, "I will, my darling. I will."

Esmerelda then tearfully asked, "Can one of you reach into my wardrobe and pull forth Frodo's purple scarf? I must feel him near me as I slip away. I have to feel him near me. I–"

"Shh," Belladonna said, walking over and getting the scarf. When she handed it to Esmerelda, she said, "Here. Close your eyes, sweet sister. Close your eyes."

Esmerelda didn't have to be told twice. Clutching the scarf to her chest, she fell into a deep slumber as Rosie, Belladonna, and Lily kept vigil all night by her bedside. She saw her Frodo and he was smiling at her. He told her to stay where she was, for it was not over yet. He then took her in every way imaginable, and it was so beautiful. They were in a field by a beautiful running river with a waterfall, the scent of everything summer in the air. They made love in the grass, and Esmerelda enjoyed it every single time. He kissed over her heart and said, "Remember this. I am still here as are you. I will return to you, my beloved. Hold on. Hold on. Hold on..."

Gandalf was dreading telling Frodo the news of Esmerelda's demise as he reached him. He knew that he would be unable to hold it off any longer. He had departed the Shire as soon as his visit with her was over, but if her sister was right, Esmerelda was two days dead. The way the potion didn't seem to work also concerned him.

"Gandalf!" Frodo greeted. Pippin, Merry, and Sam were standing about six feet behind him. "Did you see her? What has happened?"

"Come here, Frodo," Gandalf said. "Come to me."

Frodo walked over to him uneasily, a look of fear and worry on his face. Pippin, Sam, and Merry looked on with that same expression painted on their faces. The three of them loved Esmerelda as a sister, and always had since they were just tiny children. When Frodo told them of the feeling he had, they were also quite uneasy. She and Frodo always shared a sort of connection, and it spooked them out that he had gotten a feeling like that.

"Gandalf?" Frodo asked when he and Gandalf moved away from everyone. "What has happened to my Esmerelda?"

"Frodo, dear," Gandalf said, stooping low and taking both of Frodo's hands in his, tears welling into his eyes. "There is no easy way to tell you this–"

"No," Frodo said, shaking his head frantically. "No, Gandalf. No!"

"I am afraid so," Gandalf said. "I am so sorry, Frodo. I know how much you loved her so."

"NO!" Frodo screamed. "NO! SHE'S NOT DEAD, SHE CAN'T BE DEAD! NO! NO! NO! NO!"

Pippin, Merry, and Sam heard Frodo screaming those words, and they looked over at him, very small from the distance, but they could see that he was trembling greatly and shaking his head back and forth madly.

"Shh, Frodo–" Gandalf soothed, but Frodo wasn't stopping.

"NO!" Frodo screamed shrilly at the top of his tiny lungs. "SHE IS NOT DEAD! YOU ARE LYING! SHE–SHE'S NOT–SHE'S NOT GONE! NO!"

"Frodo, please," Gandalf soothed. "Please listen to me, dear hobbit."

Frodo just burst into tears, his tiny body shaking immensely from his grief. He fell to his knees, but Gandalf caught him, taking him into his arms and cradling him against him as if he were a baby. He just rocked him back and forth as Frodo sobbed and screamed, completely wounded and broken.

"She was suffering immensely," Gandalf whispered. "She had an infection and high fever and she was in an incredible amount of pain. She was suffering, Frodo. She had to be let go."

Frodo just screamed louder, his screams echoing all around. It gave Pippin, Merry, and Sam the chills at how haunting that sounded. It played again and again in their minds for the longest time, too, just watching and hearing their friend cry and scream out his pain.

"NOT MY ESMERELDA!" Frodo yelled through his tears in pain and agony. "MY BELOVED ESMERELDA! MY ESMERELDA! MY ESMERELDA! MY-MY ES-ES-ESMERELDA!"

"Shh, now," Gandalf soothed, cradling Frodo's head with one hand and trying to soothe the grieving hobbit. "Belladonna tried everything to save her, and I gave her some healing elixir. None of it seemed to have helped, my dear young Frodo. She will suffer no longer and you will see her again someday."

"NO!" Frodo screamed. "MY DEAR, BELOVED ESMERELDA! NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO! SHE'S ALIVE! SHE'S STILL HERE! SHE'S STILL ALIVE, SHE'S STILL–"

"Shh," Gandalf soothed. "Shh. Shh. Shh..."

Frodo spent the rest of the night in Gandalf's arms, just screaming and crying in pure agony, pain, loss, and grief. Pippin, Merry, and Sam sobbed themselves, not just for the loss of a great friend and dear sister, but for their good friend Frodo. The way Frodo screamed Esmerelda's name repeatedly in a wounded, agonized manner made them all shiver and sent haunting chills down their spines.

Little did any of them know–

–that Esmerelda awoke to see a new morning on the third morning of her illness.

She was confused beyond belief as to why she was still there. She was ready to die, she was ready to depart, but here she was and she was still here. Her mother, Rosie, and Belladonna were all sleeping in the room, and she was also aware that the pain between her legs had diminished greatly. She smiled, then began to laugh merrily when she discovered that she didn't feel as fevered as before. She looked down at Frodo's scarf, still clutched to her chest, and began to laugh louder. This awoke her mother, sister, and Rosie, who just looked at her. When they realized what was going on, they jumped over to her and began to hug her tightly.

"I made it," Esmerelda was laughing. "I made it through!"

"Let me check you again," Belladonna said when they were done hugging. She did, and he looked up at her in shock and wonder. "I do not believe it! Esmerelda, the infection has tamed! It is going to heal away all on its own! It is truly a miracle!"

"You still feel a little fevered," Lily said, feeling her daughter's forehead, "but nowhere near as badly as before."

The three of them wept happily and hugged merrily. Soon, the baby began to cry and Esmerelda turned her head toward the cradle. Now that she was better, she wanted to meet her son properly for the first time. She wanted to hold that piece of Frodo in her arms.

"My son," Esmerelda whispered, smiling happily. "I wish to hold him for the first time. May I?"

"Of course you may," Rosie said, wiping a few tears from her cheeks. "He is your son, and he is quite beautiful. He looks so much like his father."

Esmerelda smiled as Belladonna walked over to the cradle, picking up her nephew and walking him over to Esmerelda's bed. Esmerelda was holding out her arms, and Belladonna laid the child in them. Esmerelda gazed down at her crying son, but he immediately quieted upon looking at Esmerelda. He tried smiling up at her, and a few tears slid down Esmerelda's cheeks. Rosie was right; he had Frodo's brown hair, his blue eyes, his soft, fair skin, his nose, and his lips. He was truly a thing of beauty, just as Frodo was.

"My beautiful lad," Esmerelda whispered, more tears slipping down her cheeks. "Mine and Frodo's beautiful son."

The baby made a little noise and smiled the best that he could up at his mother, and Esmerelda lost it. She began to cry, but it wasn't sad tears. It was joyous tears, tears only a new mother would shed over the beauty of their first child.

"Rosie," Esmerelda said once she had herself composed. "Did you speak the name of my son to Belladonna and Momma?"

"We were all grieving and fretting so much over your health that it never came up," Rosie said. "You should do the honors of telling them."

"This child's name is Frodo Baggins II," Elizabeth said, looking at her mother and brother, who smiled at the name.

Frodo II began to cry, and Esmerelda realized that he was probably hungry. She began to nurse him, and as the child ate, she fell even more in love with him. He ate until he felt full, and Esmerelda burped him. He then fell asleep on her shoulder some time later, and Lily took him and placed him back in his cradle, which she had moved over to Esmerelda's bedside so that she could sit up and tend to him without having to walk across the room. Esmerelda made a full recovery in the next few days, and she spent every waking moment with her son.

Frodo spent the rest of the journey home to the Shire in a thick, depressive fog. He was barely eating, he wasn't sleeping much anymore, and he didn't want to hear anything his friends had to say about Esmerelda "no longer suffering." He really just wanted to bash their faces in anytime they even brought her up. He also turned Esmerelda's ribbon that Gandalf had given him after he calmed down between his fingers, remembering just how beautiful she always looked with this in her hair. He also took from his pocket the ring that he had gotten for her on the way back. He was planning on presenting this to her and asking her to be his wife but...but...he just couldn't finish that sentence.

He fell ill on the one-year anniversary of his stabbing upon Weathertop. This delayed their return home a little, for they couldn't travel with Frodo as ill as he was.

"Let me die," Frodo begged his friends. "Let me join her. I beg you all. Just leave me, go home."

"No," Merry said. "We will wait this out with you."

"Esmerelda would not want you carrying on as you are," Pippin told him delicately. "She would want you to continue your life without her."

"I will not," Frodo said. "It will not happen. I will never love another. I just want to be reunited with her. Let me die, just let me die."

"Pippin is right, Mr. Frodo," Sam said, dabbing Frodo's forehead with a cool cloth. "You just hold tight. We'll bring you through this."

Frodo began to weep.

When Frodo recovered from his illness, they continued on their trek home, all of them excited about returning to the Shire except for Frodo. He didn't know if he would be able to handle living there anymore, not without his Esmerelda to return home to. The Esmerelda he would never touch again, never hold in his arms again, never make love to again, would never see her radiant smile again, would never gaze into those oceanic eyes and see the life & joy that dwelled there, never taste the strawberries of her breath, never feel those lips on his again...and every time he thought these things, he would just sob until he didn't have any more strength left.


	8. Chapter 8

**PLEASE NOTE:**

**I do not own ANY of the following material. The places, events, characters, names, titles, etc. belong to their proper owners, and they get full credit. Events are fictional. Names that resemble any other individual, living or dead, is purely coincidental.**

**Any and ALL content pertaining to the 'Lord of the Rings' trilogy belongs to J.R.R. Tolkien, Peter Jackson, and any other holders of the rights. All rights reserved to them and them only. NO COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT IS INTENDED!**

A few more days passed, and Esmerelda was finally well enough to leave her bed. She started off by bathing properly (three times in the same day; she just didn't feel clean enough after being ill and giving birth). When she was good and clean, she felt much, much better. She also ate much better than she had in months, and that also made her feel like brand new. Rosie, Lily, and Belladonna hadn't told Esmerelda that Frodo was alive, for they did not know the circumstances and Gandalf didn't explain where he was. They didn't want to get Esmerelda's hopes up just to have them crushed if something were to happen to Frodo.

Rosie, Belladonna, and her mother were all helping her with little Frodo when Esmerelda needed it. She was so appreciative of all the help she was receiving from them, for there were times when she really did need it. However, she enjoyed nursing her son, enjoyed calming him down when he was crying, enjoyed telling him all about his father when he was quiet. That always brought a smile to the little baby's face, even though he was still too young to fully understand it. He did somehow, that much was evident.

Every time Frodo II looked up at her with those eyes, she saw Frodo. Frodo II had brought Esmerelda so much joy from the time she found out she was expecting him, and now that he was here, she loved him so much more and was filled with even more joy. She loved being a mother, and she hoped and prayed that Frodo would return so that they could have more. She wanted Frodo to come back and meet his son, to see just how beautiful he was, to love him and raise him as Esmerelda was now. They both wanted a huge family with a lot of kids, always had since they were children themselves.

"Your father will be thrilled to meet you," Esmerelda whispered one night to Frodo II as she was feeding him his dinner. "He will love you so, little child. I do not know when he shall return, but I know he will."

The baby made a small noise, but kept eating. Esmerelda smiled down at him, a tear sliding down her cheek. This child was truly a part of Frodo Baggins, the love of her life. He was conceived out of wedlock, sure, but nevertheless, he was still Frodo's son. He was Frodo's and Esmerelda's son, and the sheer thought of it made her so happy and so overwhelmed with joy most of the time that she would get teary-eyed.

When Frodo was done eating that night, Esmerelda burped him and laid him in his cradle. He just looked up at her, wiggling around a little, his icy-blue eyes sparkling as he tried to smile up at her. Esmerelda knelt down by the cradle and held her finger out to him. He took it in one of his tiny hands and clutched it as hard as he could. Another tear slid down Esmerelda's cheek as she leaned into the cradle and gave her son a loving, motherly kiss on his head, and Frodo II made a happy little noise.

"I love you so much, little Frodo," Esmerelda whispered to him as he directed Esmerelda's finger to his little mouth, sucking her fingertip lightly. "Momma loves you so very much."

The baby let go of her finger and made a happy little screeching noise. Esmerelda rocked his cradle back and forth gently, singing him her favorite lullaby until he fell asleep. She just sat there on the floor beside of it, tears running down her cheeks as she watched her son sleeping. All she could see was Frodo.

Five months went by far too quickly for Esmerelda's liking. There was still no sign of Frodo, and today made thirteen months since he had left. Esmerelda still hadn't lost faith, though. She knew that he was still out there, and that he was making his way home to her and to his son. Frodo II was now five months old, and he loved to babble (even though he couldn't speak yet, of course), laugh, smile, and he especially loved his mother. Every time Esmerelda was near him, or holding him, he would just cackle and smile, and when Esmerelda would rest his head on her shoulder, he would always outstretch his tiny little arms as if to hug her. He was looking more and more like Frodo every single day, and everyone definitely knew whose son he was. Esmerelda had gained the respect of everyone there since they now knew, and everyone who met the baby hobbit loved him. He was one of the cutest babes they had ever seen. "Of course he is! Just look how beautiful both of his parents are!" is what people would say in response to that.

One afternoon, Esmerelda was sitting in the rocking chair of the living room, feeding Frodo II his lunch, when Belladonna came bursting through the door with the biggest smile on her face.

"What is the grin about?" Esmerelda asked, fixing her dress and burping little Frodo. She sat him down in the cradle there in the living room.

"You will never guess who I just bumped into on my way back into town," Belladonna said excitedly.

"Who?" Esmerelda asked.

Thomas stepped aside, and Samwise Gamgee stepped into the home, a small smile on his face.

"S–Sam?" Esmerelda stammered, a smile forming on her lips. "Oh, Sam!"

She ran over and flung herself into the hobbit's arms, hugging him tightly. Belladonna smiled at the two, then left the house to give them some space to catch up privately on Frodo and the child.

"Miss Esmerelda," Sam said. "Gandalf told me you had perished!"

"I nearly did," Esmerelda told him. "I was very ill. I made it, though. I'm still here."

"I am very glad," Sam said, pulling back to look at her. His eyes looked over his shoulder and his jaw dropped. "Is that–is that a cradle?"

Esmerelda looked behind her and turned back to him, a smile on her face. "It is."

"You–you," Sam said, a smile on his face. "You bore Mr. Frodo a child?"

"I did," Esmerelda said, smiling bigger. "We conceived him before he left. I was going to tell him the day you two departed."

"A son?" Sam asked. "Mr. Frodo is a father to a son?"

"He is," Esmerelda said. "Would you like to hold him?"

"I would sure love to," Sam said, and Esmerelda walked over to the cradle, picking little Frodo up and handing him to Sam.

Frodo II looked up at Sam with curious wonder. Sam just smiled down at the little boy, and he saw what everyone else saw: This child was Frodo up-and-down in every little way. Sam was actually amazed at just how shocking the resemblance was, and at just how cheery the child was. He was smiling up at Sam, cackling happily.

"What is his name?" Sam asked.

"Frodo Baggins II," Esmerelda said. "Speaking of, where is Frodo? Where is my beloved?"

"Bag End," Sam said, looking over at her and smiling happily.

Esmerelda closed her eyes and breathed the biggest sigh of relief she had ever breathed. Emotion of every kind flooded her. "Thank heavens! I was worrying about him quite much. I will most definitely go over there this evening. I want to give him a chance to rest and get adjusted to being back home."

"Miss Esmerelda," Sam said, "this child is absolutely stunning. Congratulations!"

"Thank you very much, Sam," Esmerelda said with a smile.

"Frodo will be very excited!" Sam said excitedly, staring down at the child again as Frodo II continued cackling and babbling happily.

"I'm–" Esmerelda said, smiling sadly. "I'm not quite sure on that."

"How so?" Sam asked.

"I just–" Esmerelda began, walking over and sitting down in the rocking chair. "He told me that he did not want children until after he took a wife. We are not married, Sam. We conceived little Frodo out of wedlock, and I just–I just do not know if he will like that too well. Besides, a child is big news indeed. I just do not know how he would take something like this after such a long, hard journey."

"Miss Esmerelda," Sam said, placing little Frodo in his cradle gently, where he just continued cooing happily to himself, "look at me, right now. I am about to tell you something that Mr. Frodo said to me on our journey. Do you want to hear it?"

"I do," Esmerelda said, looking at him as he knelt down in front of her.

"We had just destroyed that horrible Ring," Sam said, and Esmerelda looked at him. "You do know about that, don't you?"

"Gandalf told me about it, yes," Esmerelda said. "I understood, but not clearly enough. I just knew that it was evil and that Middle-earth wasn't safe as long as it existed."

"Exactly," Sam said, "but anyhow, me and Mr. Frodo were laying on a rock in the middle of the lava of Mordor after Mount Doom's eruption after the Ring was destroyed. We thought we were going to die, we thought it was the end for us both. I told him all about Rosie, about how I want to marry her and have children with her, and do you know what he said to me about you, Miss Esmerelda?"

Esmerelda shook her head slowly, and Sam continued. "He said to me, he said, 'Sam, the Ring took my mind away from me and it took away all the great things in my life while it was in my possession. Now I remember, Sam. I remember my beloved Esmerelda, I remember how her breath always tasted of the best strawberries in all of Middle-earth, I remember how her skin smelled of the greatest flowers, I remember her lovely smile, I remember her beautiful eyes and how much I loved drowning in them, I remember how her lips were softer than any rose petal in the world, I remember how her fair, golden hair felt in my fingers, I remember how much I want her to be my wife, I remember how much I want her to have my children, and, above all, I remember just how much I love her, Sam. My heart is swelling and burning with the love and desire that I hold for her, and it's a feeling that I haven't felt in months.'"

Esmerelda had tears running down her cheeks, and Sam had pulled out a handkerchief and handed it to her. Esmerelda took it with a sad smile and thanked him for it as she dabbed her tears away.

"That isn't all," Sam said to her. "He also said to me, 'If I left Esmerelda with child in Hobbiton before I left, I would not be sad and I would not despair. I would be so happy, Sam. I wanted children with her more than I've ever wanted anything. If I would have survived this to return home to her and she had my baby in her arms, I would be the happiest, merriest hobbit in all of Middle-earth.'"

"He–he said that?" Esmerelda asked, wiping more tears from her cheeks.

"He did indeed, Miss Esmerelda," Sam replied.

Esmerelda burst into tears. Sam, taken by surprise at first, leaned forward and took her into his arms, hugging her tight. He soothed her, telling her that it was all going to be alright, and Esmerelda laughed a little, pulling back to look at him. She was crying tears of joy, not ones of sadness.

"I know," she said, smiling through her tears. "Oh, Sam, everything is going to be great! Thank you so very much!"

"There is no need for thanks," Sam said. "I am happy to be of service."

"Have you been to see Rosie yet?" Esmerelda asked, wiping away the last of her tears.

"I was on my way there when I came here," Sam said.

"You'd better go see her," Esmerelda said, smiling. "She will hunt you down if she hears word that you have returned!"

"I shall," Sam said, getting up and walking for the door. Before he opened it, he turned to her. "Remember what I said, Miss Esmerelda. Do not be scared to tell him."

Frodo was curled up by the fire in Bag End that night, the last of his tears drying on his cheeks. He had been crying non-stop since he had gotten back, because everything in this entire place reminded him of his lost love. He had cried so much that he didn't think there were anymore tears left in his body to cry out. So, instead, he resorted to screaming and yelling in pain and now here he was, sitting by the fire and staring into it, trying to think of anything except her and them.

This was were they had their first kiss. This was where they had professed their love for one another. This is where they first agreed to make love for the first time, and this is where he led her from and made beautiful love to her that night. Another tear trailed down his cheek, and, pretty soon, he was crying again. He curled up in the fetal position on the floor, just crying out his pain.

He would never, ever love another. He would leave the Shire and he would be alone for the rest of his days. Esmerelda was all he ever loved and all he ever wanted, and there was absolutely no one else for him. He began to wonder where Lily and Belladonna had buried her, so that he could go and visit her. At the image of a gravestone with her name, birth date, and death date on it, Frodo began to scream and cry again, clutching his hair and pulling it so hard in his pain that a few strands came out in his fingers.

His entire body was shaking and his stomach was aching horribly. He ran outside and ran to the side of Bag End, leaning over his fence. He was violently sick, and then he went inside and cleaned his mouth, more tears streaming down his cheeks. His eyes were horribly puffy and bloodshot, but he didn't give a damn. He didn't give a damn about anything anymore. Everything he ever gave a damn about was dead. She was dead. She was dead. She was dead.

Frodo leaned over his desk, yelling and crying some more. He collapsed on the floor because his legs were trembling so badly with his grief that they couldn't support him any longer.

"My Esmerelda," he wept. "My beautiful, beloved Esmerelda. I am so sorry, my love. I shouldn't have left. I–I–I should've remained here with you until your dying day. I–I am sorry for what I am about to do, but I must see you again, my beloved. I must. I cannot remain in this world if you are in it no longer. The pain of it is just too much to bear. I will see you soon, my love. I will be in your arms in no time at all."

Frodo reached up with wobbly legs and found the knife that he kept in the desk drawer. He took it out of its case and turned it over in his hands, tears streaming down his face. It was either this or poison, and since he didn't have any poison on his hands or couldn't get any without eyebrows being raised, the knife would have to do. It would be painful, but then again, he was already in so much pain that it didn't matter anymore. He positioned the sharp tip over his heart and closed his eyes.

"I am coming, my love," Frodo whispered, more tears flowing down his cheeks. "I am on my way to you."

Esmerelda was practically running to Frodo's house. She didn't bring little Frodo along, for she figured she would just take Frodo to the baby and surprise him. It had just gotten dark, and she hoped that he wouldn't be sleeping or that she wasn't disturbing him if he was relaxing. She approached Bag End and saw that there were candles lit, so she didn't think he would be sleeping. She smiled, and opened the gate, walking up the stone steps to the front door.

She knocked, then said, "Frodo? My love?"

"Es-Esmerelda?" she heard Frodo softly say from within. He sounded shocked. "Is–is that you?"

"It is, my beloved prince," she said, tears flowing down her cheeks at the sound of his voice. "It is your Esmerelda."

She heard something fall to the floor in there, and wondered if everything was alright. She was standing there at the door, more tears falling, as she waited for him to open the door. When it opened, and she saw Frodo standing there, she burst into tears. He did as well, and they both hugged so tightly that neither one could barely breathe. They didn't care, though; this is what they had been missing for thirteen months.

"I–I–I–" Frodo was sobbing loudly. "G-G-Gandalf t-t-told me that you–you-you were d-d-dead!"

"Almost, my love," Esmerelda sobbed. "Almost."

Frodo just buried his face in her hair, taking in that smell he had missed so damn much. He sobbed harder, closing his eyes as he felt the silky softness of her hair against his wet, hot cheeks. Esmerelda breathed in the musk-honey smell of his curls, taking in the smell of her home. Frodo was her home, and he always had been and always would be. Neither one of them thought they would ever get this moment again, and here they stood, hugging tightly and sobbing like a bunch of babies, taking in one another and what they had missed so damn badly for over a year.

"I never thought I–I would see you again," Frodo hiccupped.

"Nor did I," Esmerelda sobbed. "At least, not at first. I began to have faith, my love. I just knew you were out there alive. I just knew it."

"I love you, Esmerelda Burrows," Frodo whispered. "I love you so very much. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you."

"I love you, Frodo Baggins," Esmerelda sobbed. "So very, very much."

When they both calmed down enough, they pressed their lips together in the most passionate, love-filled, romantic, beautiful kiss they had ever shared with each other or with anyone else. Their lips worked together in passion, and Frodo nearly fainted with how beautiful and familiar her breath tasted. It had not changed a bit since he had left her. She still tasted of ripe strawberries, and the old memory made him kiss her harder and more passionately.

"I was so afraid you were gone," Frodo said when they pulled apart. "When Gandalf told me you had perished, I felt all of the life drain out of me, Esmerelda. I was distraught, and I thought you were gone forever. I am so relieved that you are still here."

"I am, too," Esmerelda said. "I waited for you, you know. There was no other and there never will be no other."

Esmerelda looked down, and she noticed that Frodo was missing most of his index finger on one hand. More tears welled in her eyes, because she did not even want to imagine what had happened to him, but he was still beautiful to her no matter what. He moved his hand out of her sight with an apologetic smile.

"I will explain everything another time," Frodo said.

"Alright," Esmerelda said. "I love you."

Frodo grinned huge. "I love you, Esmerelda. My beautiful Esmerelda."

They kissed again, and when they pulled apart some time later, Esmerelda looked into Frodo's eyes and said, "Frodo, there is someone I would love for you to meet. It may be a bit of a surprise, but I want you to meet him, alright?"

"Who is he?" Frodo asked, his heart dropping at 'him.'

"You shall see," Esmerelda said, taking Frodo's hand in hers. "Come with me."

They reached the house, and Lily was sewing in the living room. She and Frodo shared an emotional embrace, and she gave Esmerelda an I-will-leave-you-two-in-here-alone type of look. Lily said that she had to go tend to something outside, and excused herself.

"Who is this man you would like me to meet?" Frodo asked.

"Not man," Esmerelda said with a smile. "Boy."

"Boy?" Frodo asked, confused.

"Wait here," Esmerelda said. Frodo listened, and Esmerelda went into her room where little Frodo's cradle was. "Hey, you. Your daddy is back. Do you want to meet him?"

Little Frodo cooed softly at Esmerelda, and Esmerelda picked him up and carried him in her arms. She walked back out to the living room, and when Frodo turned around, his eyes lit up and a small smile formed on his lips.

"Esmerelda," he gasped. "Is that–is-is that–"

"It is, my love," Esmerelda said, a tear running down her cheek. "I want you to meet your son, Frodo Baggins."

A few tears streamed down Frodo's cheeks as he walked over to Esmerelda and his son. He looked at him and was shocked by the resemblance his son bore to him. Little Frodo smiled and screeched happily as he looked at Frodo, reaching his tiny little arms out toward Frodo and making a little frustrated, angry noise.

"He wants you to hold him, I think," Esmerelda said. "He knows his daddy."

Frodo reached out his arms and Esmerelda placed the baby in them. Frodo looked down at his son, tears falling down his cheeks as he smiled down at him. Little Frodo began to cackle, clapping his little hands together as he babbled merrily. Frodo looked over at Esmerelda, who had tears running down her own cheeks.

"Hey, you," Frodo said, looking back down at the baby. "It's me. It's your daddy, little child. Your daddy is here now, and your daddy is not going anywhere."

Little Frodo screamed happily and both Frodo and Esmerelda smiled and laughed a little. Esmerelda felt relief surge through her at the fact that Frodo wanted this baby in his life. Although, after Sam's visit earlier in the day, she knew that. However, actually seeing it happen was the best thing in the world to her. The loving look Frodo was giving that baby melted her heart, and she nearly burst into tears.

"I was going to tell you the day you left," Esmerelda said to Frodo. "I found out that afternoon, and when Sam told you that you had to leave–"

"Shh," Frodo said to her. "It matters not, love. What matters is that I have a son and he is perfectly healthy, and that you are alive and well as he is."

"Thanks, love," Esmerelda said. "He is why I almost died. I almost bled to death and then I had an infection and a fever. It was worth it, though, to see that child smile and to know my son. What I went through made it completely worth it."

"What is his name?" Frodo asked, smiling down at his son as Frodo II took one of Frodo's fingers in his tiny hand and shook it lightly.

"He is named after you," Esmerelda said, smiling at him through her fresh tears. "His full name is Frodo Baggins II."

"He sure does look like me," Frodo said, smiling down at his son again. "He is the most beautiful baby in the world."

Esmerelda nodded in agreement, and walked over to Frodo, placing her head on his shoulder and closing her eyes. Frodo leaned his head back into hers, and they stood there, marveling over their baby. Frodo was the happiest hobbit in the world right now, and Esmerelda was happy to see him happy. There was no greater sight than this, Frodo holding his son in his arms and falling in love with him as she had.

They spent a few hours with their son, and when Lily offered to watch him for the night after he fell asleep so that Esmerelda and Frodo could spend the evening together, Frodo and Esmerelda returned to Bag End and made love. It was absolutely spectacular for them both and it felt as if they were the only two people in the world at the time. Their bodies felt as if they were one again, and everything felt completely alright in the world again.

Frodo made sure he relished in this, and as he made love to her, a couple of things crossed his mind. One was that he was so glad to be back her with her and so happy that she was still here with him. Another was that he could never, ever get enough of her. The last one was that he was unsure if he would ever love her more than he did now...but, of course, he had been very wrong before. He always loved her more each day and every second of that day, and nothing would stop him–ever.

Frodo scooped Esmerelda up in his arms and held her to him tightly. "I love you, Esmerelda. I was under that Ring's evil influence for months and as soon as I was rid of it, I remembered everything about you. Every last, small detail, Esmerelda. I remembered it all."

"I know you did, my love," Esmerelda said, her fingers tracing over the scar on his left shoulder. She leaned up and started planting soft, slow kisses on it, and Frodo shuddered. "I'm sorry, love. Does that hurt?"

"No," he whispered. "It feels so nice, my beloved. It truly does."

Esmerelda smiled and kissed it again, then laid her head back down where it was before, her fingers now tracing the scar. She had noticed it when he first took his shirt off earlier, and she had to fight back tears. As it was with his finger, she did not want to imagine what had happened to her Frodo and she didn't want to imagine him in pain, either. She just couldn't imagine it.

"Esmerelda," Frodo said. "I do not know if I shall ever be the same Frodo you fell in love with. This journey truly changed me, and I am unsure on whether or not I can be truly happy here again. You are the only thing that makes me truly happy, and as long as you are here, then I will be happy. It's just–well, this journey was grueling, and I just do not know what will become of me."

Esmerelda now had small tears in her eyes from looking at his scar and from what he was telling her. She knew it already, she knew that the lad and the man she fell head-over-heels in love with was still there in part, but was mostly gone. His eyes, which always sparkled joyously and innocently, had lost that sparkle and were full of torment and despair. His smile, which once held all of the wonders of the world, was now filled with sadness. She still loved him, though, and nothing would ever, ever, ever change that.

She managed to say, "It matters not, my love. I love you, and I always will love you, and nothing will change that. You are beautiful to me in every way, and you will remain as such."

"I'm scarred, I'm broken, and I'm missing a finger," Frodo whispered to her. "I do not feel beautiful."

"You are," Esmerelda said, looking up into his eyes. "You are beautiful to me, Frodo Baggins. You always have been and always will be, do you understand me? No scars, no sadness, no trauma, and no missing finger will stop me from believing it. You are as beautiful now as the day you left, my love. I am sorry you had to go through what you did."

"It doesn't matter anymore," Frodo whispered. "Do you want to know why?"

"Why?"

"Because being right here with you, being back here in your arms, relishing in you in your entirety, makes it all much better."

"That is just too sweet of you, my love. I want you to know something."

"What is that, my Esmerelda?" Frodo whispered, kissing her hair softly.

Esmerelda met his eyes, then said, "I just want you to know that you never have to feel obligated to tell me of the journey if you feel no desire in doing so."

"I do, though," Frodo said. "I do. I want you to know all about it. I will tell you, I promise you."

Esmerelda smiled up at him sadly. "Alright. I will be glad to hear of it, then."

The next morning, Esmerelda and Frodo ventured to the same rose grove they had been in when he gave her his mother's necklace. Frodo had a very pleasant surprise planned, one that would make him the happiest hobbit alive.

"Why are we here?" Esmerelda asked, giggling.

"Esmerelda, love," Frodo whispered. "Can you close your eyes for me?"

Esmerelda laughed a little. "What ever for?"

"It is a surprise," Frodo said. "Please?"

Esmerelda giggled, then closed her eyes. "Alright. They're closed."

Frodo looked to make sure. "No peeking, either, Esmerelda."

"I will not," Esmerelda giggled, putting her palm over her eyes to show him she meant it.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out the ring he had gotten her. He held it in his open palm, then whispered, "Esmerelda, love. Open your eyes."

Esmerelda opened them slowly, then looked down at Frodo's hand. She gasped, looking from him to the ring, then back to him again. A few tears welled in her eyes as she realized what was happening. Frodo got down on one knee, holding the ring between his thumb and index finger. He took her left hand in one of his and said, "There is something very special about this ring. This ring is guaranteed to grant me eternal happiness and not eternal torment if you accept it. What I'm trying to say is: Esmerelda Burrows, would you do me the honor of marrying me?"

Esmerelda, tears spilling down her cheeks, nodded. Frodo smiled and slid the beautiful ring on her finger; it fit absolutely perfectly. He took her into his arms and spun her around, both of them laughing through their tears.

Frodo had told Esmerelda the entire story of the journey in a course of three and a half days after the holidays had ended. She had smiled at all the right parts, and cried at all the right ones as well. Esmerelda just couldn't believe the terrible burden Frodo had to carry, and she always wished it had been her instead of him. Anyone but Frodo.

Esmerelda and Frodo wed on January twenty-ninth. Bilbo and Gandalf had returned for the occasion, and Bilbo was thrilled to meet his new cousin Frodo II. Esmerelda and Frodo spent their honeymoon in Rivendell, making love almost the entire time during the week they were there. They were the two happiest hobbits in the world right then, for they had fulfilled their dreams of marrying one another and having a baby. However, Esmerelda's child-bearing was far from over, and they both knew it. That was quite alright, though; it would only mean even more happiness for them, and that was something they both were looking forward to indeed.


	9. Chapter 9

**PLEASE NOTE:**

**I do not own ANY of the following material. The places, events, characters, names, titles, etc. belong to their proper owners, and they get full credit. Events are fictional. Names that resemble any other individual, living or dead, is purely coincidental.**

**Any and ALL content pertaining to the 'Lord of the Rings' trilogy belongs to J.R.R. Tolkien, Peter Jackson, and any other holders of the rights. All rights reserved to them and them only. NO COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT IS INTENDED!**

Esmerelda and Frodo II had moved into Bag End with Frodo after the honeymoon had ended. They were the ideal happy family, always smiling and laughing together, doing everything together, and as Frodo II approached his first birthday, the resemblance he bore to his father only grew greater. He also had his father's knack for adventures, for he always wanted to go places and curiously look at everything. Lily told Esmerelda & Frodo one day, as they all sat around outside one beautiful February evening as Belladonna & Frodo II played merrily together, that Frodo had been just like this as a babe. Frodo and Esmerelda shared a look, and smiled. They knew what was probably going to come as he grew older, and it didn't fill them with dread. It filled them with joy to know that they had a son who was full of life and wanted to see the world.

Today was March the thirteenth, and it was the anniversary of Frodo being poisoned by the giant spider Shelob. Esmerelda had remembered him telling her of his encounter with the spider, and he also told her that he became ill on the first anniversary of the stabbing on Weathertop, so they were both expecting him to be sick on the anniversary of the poisoning, too. Esmerelda noticed it when they first woke up that morning; he was pale and he was sweating. Esmerelda asked him what was wrong and he told her he was very ill. She went outside and got Sam, who promised to stay there that day to help her with Frodo and the little one. Esmerelda would tend to Frodo II while Sam tended to her husband Frodo, and sometimes the roles would switch off.

At one point, Frodo was so delirious with fever that he was hallucinating the giant spider. Esmerelda held him as he screamed and thrashed, trying to escape what wasn't really there. Esmerelda was sobbing as she tried to calm her ill, delirious husband, and she reached over onto the night-stand by his bed and grabbed the cloth in the cool water, wrung it out, and laid Frodo back into the bed. He was still fighting, but Esmerelda began to dab his hot forehead with the cloth and he began to calm a little. She unbuttoned his nightshirt and began to dab the cool cloth on his bare chest, too. His entire body was like fire, and Esmerelda was truly frightened. She began to weep again.

"Miss Esmerelda?" Sam asked, walking into the room. "Is everything alright?"

"No," Esmerelda wept. "I do not like seeing him suffer like this, Sam. Look at him. Just look. He, of all people, should not have to endure this pain. Why is it the good folk like my Frodo suffer most?"

"Maybe because it's a way to test our faith," Sam said. "Or perhaps maybe it's just something that is completely unfair in all realms of life, miss."

Esmerelda smiled at him sadly, and looked down at Frodo who was staring blankly out the window into the mid-morning sunny day. She continued dabbing him off, and Sam stood behind her, a hand placed carefully on her shoulder as she tried to bring Frodo's fever down. When he finally slipped off to sleep, Esmerelda curled up next to him, sobbing her heart out. Sam had left her alone some time before that, and she could hear him in the family room talking cutely with Frodo II as the child babbled and screeched happily.

Esmerelda hadn't been feeling well herself lately, and she thought she knew exactly why. The familiar sickness had returned and had been plaguing her for nearly two weeks now, her breasts were sore and tender again, and her bleeds were nearly three weeks late. Belladonna had taught Esmerelda, before Esmerelda moved into Bag End, how to test herself. Belladonna told her, though, that if it didn't work and she still had a feeling about it, to come and see her and she would test her herself. Esmerelda decided to give the test a shot and tested herself after little Frodo went down for his afternoon nap.

It was now nighttime, and little Frodo had drank his milk from his tiny bottle and was cooing and laughing to himself merrily in his cradle that was sitting in the living area. Sam was tending to Frodo for the time being while Esmerelda stepped outside to get some fresh air. She was sitting on one of the steps of Bag End, leaning back a little onto the hill, both hands on her stomach with a small smile on her face. She heard the door to Bag End open and close, and then Sam was beside of her.

"Mr. Frodo and the baby are sleeping for the time being," he said to her. "Mr. Frodo kept calling me 'Smeagol' and he tried to hit me. I calmed him down in no time at all and dabbed him off with the cold rag. I just hope this is all over for him soon."

"As do I," Esmerelda said, sighing sadly and looking up at the bright moon. "I have some good news for him, when he recovers."

"What good news is that?" Sam asked.

She looked over at him and smiled. "I trust you, Samwise Gamgee. I know you will not tell anyone, at least not until Frodo knows when he is well. I found out today that I am with another child."

Sam smiled and pulled her into a hug. "Well, that is good news indeed! Mr. Frodo will be overjoyed!"

"Thank you," Esmerelda said. "I am rather happy myself. I think little Frodo will love a little brother or sister."

"I have some happy news myself," Sam said. "You have to promise you will not tell Rosie, though."

"I promise," Esmerelda said. Sam and Rosie had been seeing each other since Sam returned.

"This came today," Sam said, reaching into one of his pockets and pulling out a beautiful ring. "I plan on asking Rosie to be my wife."

Esmerelda's entire face lit up as she hugged Sam again. "Congratulations! Rosie is going to be so happy! I always knew you two would be married someday, I just knew it!"

"Thank you, Miss Esmerelda," Sam said.

"Since you are going to be my best friend's husband soon," Esmerelda said, pulling back to look at him, "you may call me just Esmerelda, and Mr. Frodo is Frodo."

"I like that," Sam said with a small grin.

Sam slept out on a cot on the floor beside of Frodo II's cradle that night, and Esmerelda didn't sleep well next to her ill husband that night. He kept waking up, calling for her, and when she would hug him, he would still call for her, as if he didn't see her. When he looked down at her, he hallucinated and thought she was an Elf. He kept asking where his Esmerelda was and if she was alright. Esmerelda was sobbing and saying, "It's me, love. I'm right here with you," but he either didn't hear her or he wasn't listening. When he would slip back into unconsciousness, Esmerelda would lay there and weep until she dozed off again. She finally fell into a nice, deep sleep right before dawn.

Frodo had awoken at around ten, and looked down at his sleeping wife, a smile on his face. He turned his head and saw the basin with the cold water and rag in it. He reached up to touch his forehead, and felt that his fever, for the most part, was gone. He was glad, though; he absolutely hated being sick. Of course, didn't everyone?

He could hear baby Frodo crying in the living area, and then he heard Sam's voice, trying to calm the child. After awhile, it worked, for baby Frodo began to babble on cheerily to Sam, and Sam was talking right back to him in the sweetest way. Frodo smiled huge.

Esmerelda stirred in her sleep, and rolled over on her side away from him. Frodo smiled down at her, and placed one of his hands on one of her hips, squeezing very lightly and lovingly. He pulled the blankets up on her more so that she wouldn't get cold (it was quite chilly in there), and he wondered if he had enough energy to get up and build a fire in his fireplace to keep the room warm. He was only dimly aware of the aching in his shoulder.

He got up and found that he was still fairly weak and dizzy. However, he managed to build a fire and the room warmed up fairly quickly. He went back over and got back in bed, scooping Esmerelda up in his arms and holding her tight. He fell back asleep, but didn't stay asleep too long. When he awoke, Esmerelda wasn't far behind him, and she turned her head and stared up at him sleepily.

"Good morning, love," Frodo whispered, kissing her cheek.

"Good morning," she replied sleepily. "How are you feeling?"

"Much better," he said. "My fever has gone down."

Esmerelda turned around and reached up, feeling his forehead. She smiled, then said, "So it has. I am so glad, my love. I hated to see you suffer so much."

"I never suffer as long as you are near, my beloved Esmerelda," he whispered.

"Frodo," she said, looking up at him. "I have some great news."

"What is it?" he asked.

"I discovered yesterday that I am with another child," she said, a huge smile on her lips. "I wanted to wait until you were well and in a fit state of mind to tell you."

Frodo smiled huge and his eyes began swimming with tears. "Another baby? We're going to have another little babe?"

"We are," Esmerelda said, smiling, a few tears filling her own eyes.

Frodo hugged her tight, and Esmerelda hugged back in the same way. Frodo began to laugh happily, and Esmerelda mirrored it with her own laughter. They just hugged like that for ages, and then Sam walked in.

"Oh!" he said, turning away, embarrassed. "Sorry!"

"There's nothing to apologize for," Esmerelda said, smiling at him. "I just told him the good news about the babe I have on the way is all."

"Oh!" Sam said, smiling.

"I need some fresh air, love," Frodo said, kissing the side of Esmerelda's head, then getting out of bed. "I think it will do me some good."

"Be careful," Esmerelda said. "You still need your strength back after being so ill."

"I was planning to eat and drink first," Frodo said, giving her a loving smile, "then I shall go out to some fresh air."

Esmerelda got up and followed him out of the room. Sam was kind enough to fix them all breakfast, and as he was preparing it, Frodo insisted on giving little Frodo his. He sat with the babe in his arms as he drank his milk from the bottle, his little eyes fluttering closed as he drank. Esmerelda just sat and watched them both, excited about having another child and knowing that she was so blessed to have the husband, son, and family that she had always wanted.

Another three months passed, and it was the day after little Frodo's first birthday.

Frodo and Esmerelda were enjoying raising little Frodo. The child had grown increasingly attached to Frodo, and he seemed to already be so close to Frodo that it wasn't funny. Esmerelda loved seeing them together, loved seeing them happy around each other, but she still felt pain in her heart for her beloved. Sometimes, at night, he would have the worst nightmares and would wake up, screaming and yelling with tears streaming down his delicate cheeks. Esmerelda would always hold him, soothe him, assure him that she was right there and that nothing bad would come to him as long as she was there. Other times, Frodo would voice to her his desire to still have the Ring in his possession, and he would break down in tears every time, calling himself a "failure."

"Now, you listen to me, Frodo Baggins," Esmerelda had told him one day. "You are no failure. You saved the lives of every man, woman, and child on this planet, including mine and your son's, and you risked your life doing so. Don't you ever think of yourself as a failure. It was not your fault. None of this was or is."

She always put particular emphasis on that last part, because it was the truth. It wasn't his fault that he had to go on this mission, it wasn't his fault that he was chosen for it, and, overall, it wasn't his fault that the Ring influenced him. It was that Ring's fault, not Frodo's.

They did absolutely everything with their son. They took him walks, they took him to visit Merry, Pippin, Sam & Rosie, and Thomas & Arcella very often, listened to him babble on and on cutely on a daily basis, and would watch him crawl through the fields that they visited, chasing butterflies and picking flowers. One day, as they were sitting in a field, Esmerelda and Frodo were sitting against a tree, Esmerelda in Frodo's arms while Frodo's hands rested on Esmerelda's ever-growing belly, little Frodo was running through the field, trying to catch the butterflies that crossed his path. When they would fly away from him, he would screech angrily and try to catch another one.

"He is just too adorable," Esmerelda said to Frodo as Frodo rubbed her stomach gently.

"He is," Frodo said. "Just think, love. Soon, we will be welcoming another child into the world and into our lives. Little Frodo will have a little brother or sister to keep him company."

"He will have many more, too," Esmerelda said. "If you still want that big family, that is."

"I do," Frodo whispered, kissing her hair. "I do very much."

"I'm still in awe over how much he resembles you," Esmerelda said, watching little Frodo try to pick flowers in the field. "He doesn't resemble me at all. He has your eyes, your hair, your lips, your knack for adventure, and your ambition, even at such a young age. He's going to be quite the handful when he's older."

It was all truth. The older little Frodo got, the more he resembled Frodo. Now, he had Frodo's thick, brown, curly hair, his eyes had gotten bigger to resemble Frodo's a little more, and he was always trying to explore everything he came across. If that wasn't Frodo Baggins, nothing was.

Frodo laughed a little. "Oh, yes. He definitely will. We'll have to make sure to keep him away from Farmer Maggot."

Elizabeth laughed at that. "Oh, yes! I remember quite well what you did when you were little!"

"As do I," Frodo said with another small laugh.

"I'm so happy, love," Esmerelda said. "I'm happy to be your wife and I'm so happy to have bore you one son and to bear you more children in the future. I love you so much."

"I love you, too," Frodo said.

Little Frodo began to waddle over toward them, and he had a tiny fistful of flowers that he had picked. When he reached them, he laughed happily and Esmerelda held out her arms to him. Little Frodo handed her the flowers, then looked up at Frodo and said, "Dad–dee."

Esmerelda and Frodo both froze, but not in a bad way. That had been little Frodo's very first word, and they were both wondering just when he was going to say it. They both kind of knew it would be "daddy," because of how much little Frodo loved his dad. He loved Esmerelda, too, but he was just so close with Frodo.

Frodo had a tear slide down his cheek as he said, "That's right, little Frodo. I am your daddy."

"Dad–dee!" little Frodo screeched happily. "Dad-dee! Dad-dee! Dad-dee!"

Esmerelda slid over so that Frodo could hold his son. Frodo held out his arms to little Frodo and took him in them, hugging his son tight. Both he and Esmerelda felt increasingly more love for the child, and were both even more thrilled about having another one.

"Ba-ba?" little Frodo asked, pointing to Esmerelda's stomach. "Ba-ba?"

"Yes," Elizabeth said, giving her son a kiss on his head. "There's a little ba-ba in there. It's going to be your new little brother or sister."

"Ba-ba!" little Frodo screeched. "Dad-dee, ba-ba!"

Six months came and went. Esmerelda was now fully pregnant, and she was due to give birth any day. Today was the twenty-second of October, and it was also Esmerelda's due date that Belladonna calculated for her. She had hoped, that when Frodo fell ill on the anniversary of the Weathertop stabbing, that she didn't go into early labor as she did with little Frodo. She didn't want Frodo missing this birth as he had missed little Frodo's.

Esmerelda was knitting a new blanket for the baby and little Frodo was helping by playing in her yarn, scattering it all over and handing it to her when she asked, saying, "Mum-mee, yan bankey!" each time. Frodo was at his desk, working on his book. He wanted to recount his own adventure in the remaining pages and tell his story of his quest.

Esmerelda continued her knitting until she felt a fierce kick and sharp movement in her stomach. She dropped the knitting needles into her lap at once, and that's when she felt a contraction hit.

"Frodo!" she called. "Frodo, my love!"

Frodo called out, "What is it, love?"

"I'm having contractions!" she called. "I think we'd better get to–"

But that's all she got out before she felt her water break.

"Oh, no!" she cried.

"What?" Frodo said urgently, running into the room.

"You need to get Belladonna, and quickly!" she cried. "My water has just broken!"

"I do not want to leave you here alone!" Frodo cried. "What if the child comes before he can get here?"

"Then bring Sam and Rosie in here!" Esmerelda cried, then screamed as a hard contraction hit. Little Frodo began to cry, and Elizabeth soothed, "There, there. Do not be afraid, child. Mummy is okay, it's just that the other baby is coming."

"Ba-ba?" little Frodo asked, pointing at her belly. "Ba-ba toming?"

"Yes," Esmerelda said. "I need you to go with Daddy to get Aunt Belladonna for me, okay?"

"Otay!" little Frodo chirped, and Frodo picked him up. He went running out of the house as fast as he could.

Sam and Rosie came bursting through the door once the two Frodos left. Esmerelda screamed as another contraction hit, and then she felt the baby move down into her pelvis–much, much quicker than little Frodo had when he was on his way.

"It's coming," Esmerelda gasped. "Oh, no! It's coming right now!"

"Now?" Rosie asked, alarmed. "But–but it's so much sooner!"

"I know," Esmerelda cried, yelling as contraction after contraction hit in just a matter of seconds. "Sam? I need you to go and get that nice, sturdy cot that you slept on that time you stayed here, okay? Gather some old blankets from Bilbo's closet and spread them out on it. Rosie? I need you to promise me that you will help me deliver this baby."

"Belladonna will be here soon," Rosie said soothingly as Sam went off to do as he was instructed.

"She's not very close to Bag End," Elizabeth said, "and it doesn't matter how fast Frodo runs to get there or they run to get here. This child is coming and it's coming rather quickly. You need to deliver it, Rosie. Please. You must. I will not let this child die."

"Esmerelda," Rosie said, sighing sadly, "if you begin bleeding as you had the first time–"

"I will be fine," Esmerelda said. "It is my child I am most concerned with. Please, Rosie. Please."

"Alright," Rosie said. "I–I'll do it until Belladonna gets here. Then she can take over."

"That's fine by me," Esmerelda said, as Sam brought out the cot and set it up.

Once the cot was set up, Esmerelda laid on it and Rosie checked her. Esmerelda was ready, and she began to bring the child into the world. Sam was by Esmerelda's hand, offering a hand to squeeze when she would push. When Esmerelda would look down at Rosie, she would look back, worry and fear in her eyes. Esmerelda knew that her friend was scared that she would start bleeding as she had before, and that she would die right here without a proper doctor on hand. Sam's hand was probably hurting so much from all the squeezing she was doing on it, but he didn't seem to mind. He had taken his free hand and was stroking Esmerelda's sweaty forehead gently and soothingly, as if to say, "It'll all be alright and I'm glad to be here helping you." Esmerelda smiled up at him sadly between pushes, as if to say "I'm sorry you have to be here to see this."

"Almost!" Rosie said. "Two more pushes should do!"

Esmerelda pushed and screamed two more times, and then she heard the child screaming and crying. She looked up at Sam, who was looking at the child with a sort of wonder, a small smile on his face.

"It's another baby boy," Rosie said happily, using a knife she had gotten in the kitchen to clip the umbilical cord, "and he is beautiful."

"He truly is, Esmerelda," Sam said.

"How–how are things looking there?" Esmerelda asked. "No bleeding?"

"Not major, no," Rosie said. "Just the normal amount. Belladonna should be here soon and she can take care of all the rest."

Rosie took the baby into the kitchen and cleaned all of the blood and fluids from him. When he was clean, she wrapped him in a small blanket and brought him back out to Esmerelda. She brought a few pillows in from hers and Frodo's bedroom and propped Esmerelda up so that she could hold her newest son. The baby had faint traces of light blonde hair, just like hers, and, when he opened his eyes for the first time, Esmerelda saw that they were blue-green as hers were. He had Frodo's nose, but that was all he had of Frodo's. The hair, lips, and eyes were Esmerelda's.

Sam and Rosie stood over top of her, just gazing down at the small child in Esmerelda's arms. He had started to cry again, and Esmerelda bounced him gently in her arms, soothing him, talking to him, and the child quieted, closing its tiny eyes and falling into sleep.

"Esmerelda!" Frodo cried as the door burst open. "Esmerelda, I have–"

That's all he could say before he realized what had happened. He looked from Sam, to Rosie, then down at his wife, who had a bundle in her arms.

"You have another son, Frodo Baggins," Esmerelda said, smiling up at him. "He was so eager to meet us that he came a little too soon."

Frodo walked over to her slowly, a smile on his face as a tear slid down his cheek. Belladonna came in with her bag of supplies, but when she saw her sister holding the child in her arms already, she gasped in shock.

"Who delivered him?" Belladonna asked.

"I did," Rosie said. "He was coming far too fast and something had to be done."

"Then I am so glad that you were here, Rosie," Belladonna said. "Thank you so much."

"Yes," Esmerelda said, looking up at Rosie, then at Sam. "Both of you. Thank you."

"Let me just check and make sure everything is fine," Belldonna said, walking over to the bed and kneeling down in front of her sister. She did the finishing touches, then announced, "Everything looks very well. I'm so sorry I couldn't be here sooner. I was at a convention on the other side of the Shire, and so it took me longer to get back home, gather my things, and get here."

"It matters not," Esmerelda assured her. "I have another son, and both of us are in perfect health. That is all that matters to me."

"What are you to name him?" Sam asked.

Frodo and Esmerelda exchanged a look, and smiled up at their friend. "Frodo and I both agreed on this name a long time ago. We didn't want to tell either of you, because his first name is a surprise."

"What is it?" Rosie asked.

"Samwise Baggins," Frodo said, smiling up at Sam. "He is to be named after the bravest hobbit we've ever known."

A tear welled in Sam's eye as he said, "I do not know what to say. I–I–thank you. Thank you both."

"Where's little Frodo?" Esmerelda asked. "I want him to meet his little brother."

"He's with mother," Belladonna said. "We did not want him here for the delivery. I will bring him back."

Esmerelda smiled, and Belladonna left to get Frodo II. Frodo, Rosie, and Sam were left to marvel over the newest addition to the Baggins family, and Frodo and Esmerelda exchanged a kiss, both of them over the moon with joy over their growing family. When Frodo II returned home, he was also excited over his new little brother. He gave him a kiss on his head and said, " Ba-ba, Fwodo wub oo!" Esmerelda and Frodo hugged both of their children, feeling more blessed than they could possibly put into words.


	10. Epilogue: Time Goes By

**PLEASE NOTE:**

**I do not own ANY of the following material. The places, events, characters, names, titles, etc. belong to their proper owners, and they get full credit. Events are fictional. Names that resemble any other individual, living or dead, is purely coincidental.**

**Any and ALL content pertaining to the 'Lord of the Rings' trilogy belongs to J.R.R. Tolkien, Peter Jackson, and any other holders of the rights. All rights reserved to them and them only. NO COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT IS INTENDED!**

Ten years went by way too fast for Frodo and Esmerelda. They were both forty-four years old now, but they both looked exactly the same as they had ten years ago. They were years that were filled with joy and misery. It was joyous, because Frodo was working on his story while helping Esmerelda raise their children at Bag End and they were enjoying watching their kids grow. Frodo II had, indeed, acquired his father's mischievous side, and Frodo would always take the younger Frodo on walks and little adventures close to home with him. Frodo II enjoyed that quite immensely, and as he got older, he enjoyed it so much more.

It was miserable, because Frodo was still suffering horribly from the adventure he went on eleven years ago. He was still having waking nightmares, one of which he screamed so loud that it woke little Frodo when Frodo was about five. He came into Esmerelda & Frodo's bedroom and said, "What wrong wif Daddy?" They placed the child in their bed, and a sobbing Frodo just held his son, crying and saying, "Daddy loves you, Mommy, and your brothers so much, little Frodo. Daddy just had a bad dream." Little Frodo would say, "It's otay, Daddy. I wuv you, too and I sca-uh the bad dweams away!" Then there was the strong desire Frodo still felt for the Ring, and the way he always fell ill on the anniversaries of Weathertop and the poisoning of Shelob.

There was one such instance when Frodo fell ill on the Weathertop anniversary that little Frodo became ill with the measles. Lily was over for the two days it took Frodo to get better, helping her daughter out with the children and with Frodo himself. Little Frodo had only been about seven years old at the time, and he kept asking Esmerelda if both he and his daddy were going to die. Esmerelda told him absolutely not, and that everything would be alright. Everything was, too, at least physically, for Frodo. Mentally and emotionally, he was still torn and broken over the Ring and his journey to destroy it.

Esmerelda had given birth to another son six years ago, whom they named Aragorn Baggins, with Belladonna delivering him. Esmerelda's mother had died a month before Aragorn was born, and Belladonna had sold the house after Esmerelda delivered Aragorn, moving to another part of the Shire. Merry and Pippin would be over there most of the time as well with their own children, and the Baggins and Gamgee kids loved Merry and Pippin to pieces. All of the kids were good friends as well, and that is something their parents loved seeing.

Today was the eleventh anniversary of the stabbing on Weathertop, and Frodo was finishing up his book. He and Esmerelda had both come to a decision on what they wanted to do, and she was off saying her goodbyes to Rosie and her kids. At first, Frodo did not think Esmerelda and the children would be allowed, and he decided right then that he would not go if they could not. Gandalf worked it out, and said that Esmerelda and the children would be allowed as well. Sam was at Bag End gardening on that day, and would find out soon enough what was happening. Frodo wasn't feeling well, and his shoulder was aching horribly, but he managed to finally finish the book that he started years ago.

Esmerelda was five months pregnant with their fourth child, and everything was going so well. Frodo was saddened about taking Esmerelda and the kids away from their home, and he told her that she did not have to accompany him if she didn't want to, but she told him that she was. She had told him, "I thought I lost you once. I'll be damned if lose you for good this time." That was the end of that, and they were both happy that Frodo would be able to find peace and happiness once more after years of torment, sadness, misery, and suffering.

He heard the front door open and close, and then he was aware of someone kneeling down behind him. He could smell Esmerelda, still smelling just as beautifully after all these years, and he felt her head rest on his shoulder. Her arms came around to embrace him from behind, one of them resting gently on his sore, achy shoulder. He brought one of his hands up to hers and rested it over hers, squeezing it lightly.

"It's time, my love," Esmerelda whispered in his ear.

Frodo just leaned his head back into hers, nudging it gently until he found a comfortable place. He closed his eyes when he did, and Esmerelda closed hers as well. She was feeling very bittersweet about leaving, because this was her home, but she wanted Frodo to be happy again. She didn't care that she had to leave; if it would make her beloved happy again, then it was worth leaving. They opened their eyes after a few minutes and kissed, looking out the window at their three handsome sons, who were playing tag with Merry and Pippin. Pippin was giving little Aragorn a piggy-back ride, and Aragorn was laughing happily. Aragorn had Frodo's hair, but he had Esmerelda's lovely eyes, and even from such a distance, both Frodo and Esmerelda could tell just how much he looked like her right then. Such a sight made them both so sad that they would have to leave Merry and Pippin behind, because both they and their sons loved them both so much. Frodo II was now age ten, Samwise was nine, and Aragorn was six, and all three of them were growing up so fast that it made Esmerelda and Frodo a little sad.

Sam walked in on their embrace, and both Frodo and Esmerelda gave Sam a sad, small smile, and got ready to leave. Sam, Merry, and Pippin thought that the journey they were going on was to say goodbye to Bilbo, for he was departing for the Undying Lands. Little did they know, though, that Esmerelda, Frodo, and their three children would be joining them.

Esmerelda, the boys, Frodo, and Bilbo all took carriages (Frodo & Bilbo in one and Esmerelda and the boys in another), while Pippin, Merry, and Sam took horses. When they reached the Grey Havens, Esmerelda just gaped in shock and awe over how beautiful it looked. There was a huge boat waiting for them, and it looked so majestic and beautiful that it could've been straight from a painting.

"Wow!" Frodo II marveled. "It's so pretty, Momma!"

"It is, sweetheart," Esmerelda agreed. "I've never seen a sight more breathtaking in my life."

"I have," Frodo said, smiling at her and lacing one hand in hers. Esmerelda smiled back, then looked back at the boat.

"You're Esmerelda Baggins, I assume?" a tall man with long dark hair asked her.

"I am," she said. "It is nice to meet you, um–"

"Elrond," he replied, bowing to her.

"It's nice to meet you, Elrond," Esmerelda said.

"The pleasure is mine," Elrond said, smiling at her.

"As is mine," a lady with long, crimped, light hair said. "I am Galadriel."

"Nice to meet you, Galadriel," Esmerelda said as Galadriel bowed.

"And I," said a man with long blonde hair "am Celeborn."

"Nice to meet you," Esmerelda said as he, too, bowed.

Esmerelda of course knew Gandalf, and she smiled warmly at him. He returned the smile, and Esmerelda focused her attention back to her family and friends. When Gandalf called Esmerelda, Frodo, and the boys to go onto the boat, Pippin, Merry, and Sam looked at them, puzzled.

"It is for his sake," Esmerelda told them. "He will not be truly happy until he leaves Middle-earth for good."

"That's not true," Pippin said. "It's–it's not true, Frodo. You can be happy."

"I cannot," Frodo told him, smiling sadly. "I've been here for ten years since the journey ended, and I cannot escape the pain I endured. This is the only way that escape can happen."

"No," Merry said, tears running down his cheeks. "Frodo, Esmerelda. No."

"I am so sorry," Esmerelda said, tears spilling down her own cheeks as she pulled Merry into a big hug. "I truly am sorry."

The kids shared their hugs and tears with Sam, Merry, and Pippin, and then Gandalf took them on the boat to wait for their parents. It was such a heart shattering scene, even the Elves and Gandalf couldn't deny that. Now, it was Esmerelda's and Frodo's turns to say goodbye.

"I love you," Pippin whispered in Esmerelda's ear. "Not in that way, of course. You have always been my sister, my rock. I am going to miss you dearly."

"I love you, too," Esmerelda whispered back, tears leaking down her cheeks. "You are my brother and I am going to miss you awfully, too."

Esmerelda gave Sam a big hug after Frodo did, and she realized that Frodo had given him his book and left him Bag End like he said he was going to. After Esmerelda was done hugging Sam, she and Frodo tearfully walked away from their friends, their brothers. They looked back when they had gotten on the boat and smiled back at their friends, who were also crying. The boat then began to depart, and Esmerelda and Frodo didn't look back.

Esmerelda, Frodo, and the children loved their new residence in the Undying Lands. It was a huge, beautiful, castle-like place with a great view. Esmerelda and Frodo always said that it was like their own castle, for he was looked upon as a hero and Esmerelda was admired for being the hero's wife and for being such a kind-hearted, beautiful-spirited hobbit to everyone she encountered. Esmerelda and Frodo always said it was like they were Prince Frodo and Princess Esmerelda (or even King Frodo and Queen Esmerelda) because of how things had seemed and how they were treated. They weren't complaining, though; the home was exquisite, and Frodo hadn't felt one bit of pain since he had gotten there. He no longer fell ill on the anniversaries of his ailments and he never once felt desire for the Ring ever again. He still had the scars and the missing finger, of course, but they were no longer markings of his hardships to him. They were markings of what he overcame and of his heroism. His eyes also got their beautiful joyous glow back, as well as his smile and himself as a whole.

Esmerelda gave birth to more children in the Undying Lands under the best supervision and Elvish healers. She gave birth to Peregrin Baggins four months after their arrival in the Undying Lands. He had Frodo's dark hair and Esmerelda's blue-green eyes. Esmerelda suffered a tragic miscarriage of Frodo's daughter a year after the birth of Peregrin, and the children, Frodo, and Esmerelda were incredibly devastated over it. However, it didn't take her long to get pregnant again after the tragedy, and it was a very different pregnancy for her indeed.

"Frodo," she had said one night as they lay in their huge, comfortable bed.

"Yes, love?" he asked her.

"I forgot to tell you the news," she said. "I only found out earlier today when I went to see the healer."

"Is everything alright?" Frodo had asked.

"Everything is spectacular," Esmerelda said, grinning up at him. "Frodo, I am carrying twins."

"Two little babes are living within you right at this moment," Frodo said, placing a hand on her growing belly and smiling huge. "Little twins. That's wonderful news!"

Esmerelda gave birth to two perfectly healthy, fraternal twin boys months later. It was the hardest labor Esmerelda had to go through, because she had to bring out two children in the same course of time, but it was worth it. She loved all of her children, and having twins was something that she and Frodo had both always wanted. They named one twin Drogo Baggins and the other was named Andwise Baggins, after Esmerelda's & Frodo's fathers. Drogo had blonde hair and Frodo's eyes, while Andwise had dark hair and Esmerelda's eyes. Esmerelda suffered yet another miscarriage a year and a half after the birth of the twins, this time another son. Bilbo had passed away not long after the miscarriage, and both Esmerelda and Frodo were mourning the loss of both him and their lost son.

Esmerelda gave birth to their seventh child, Meriadoc Baggins, and he had Frodo's dark hair and the most unique set of eyes anyone had ever seen. One of his eyes was icy blue, like Frodo's, and the other was blue-green, like Esmerelda's. They were the most beautiful set of eyes of any hobbit in existence. Esmerelda nearly bled to death & had a nasty infection again after Meriadoc's birth, but since she had the greatest Elvish healers at her side, she recovered quicker and didn't suffer as she had when Frodo II was born. She had to be cut open to remove Meriadoc, because she began hemorrhaging severely when the labor began. Frodo II was sixteen, Samwise was fifteen, Aragorn was twelve, Peregrin was six, and the twins were three at the time of Meriadoc's birth.

Esmerelda gave birth to two daughters, one two years after Meriadoc's birth and the other two years after the first daughter. They were named Primula Baggins and Lily Baggins. Primula was the spitting image of her mother, and Lily resembled Frodo. Esmerelda and Frodo would have had another child, a daughter, two years after Primula's birth, but Esmerelda miscarried again. Their other children helped their parents tremendously with the younger children, and Esmerelda and Frodo were so thankful that they had raised such caring, helpful young children. The Elves even assisted when it was absolutely necessary, too.

Esmerelda delivered their final children, one boy and one girl. The boy was named Bilbo Baggins II, and he had Esmerelda's fair features. The girl, who was named Belladonna Baggins, had Esmerelda's hair and Frodo's eyes.

Years went by, and when their children were old enough, they returned to the Shire to acquire mates. Their children and their mates all returned to the Undying Lands once they found their mates, and married there. They went to the Shire & Bag End for their honeymoon, and returned once it was over. Esmerelda and Frodo remarked on how it came full-circle for Frodo II, Samwise, Aragorn, and Peregrin, for they were conceived in Bag End. Samwise and Aragorn were born there, too.

Frodo and Esmerelda became grandparents, too–forty seven times, actually. Frodo II & his wife had four daughters, Samwise & his wife had two sons, Aragorn & his wife had four children (two sons, two daughters), Drogo & his wife had eight children (five boys and three girls), Peregrin & his wife had one son and one daughter, Andwise & his wife had four daughters and one son, Meriadoc and his wife had three daughters, Primula and her husband had three sons, Lily and her husband had one daughter and two sons, Bilbo and his wife had six children (five boys, one girl), and Belladonna and her husband had seven children (four girls, three boys). Esmerelda and Frodo were so overjoyed when they were surrounded by their entire family, and they loved just how huge it was. It was what they had always wanted, what they had always dreamed of. They both had turned gray and were starting to get old, but neither of them cared. They were still beautiful to one another.

Esmerelda had told all of her children about Frodo's journey at Frodo's consent. He did not stay to hear it, for he had lived it and that was enough. The pain was gone, all of it was and had been gone for years, but he just did not want to relive it. Their children eventually told the grandchildren, and the grandchildren told their children, and so on and so forth. The story also lived on in the Shire through Sam, who would read the Red Book of Westmarch to anyone who was willing to listen–which was pretty much everyone.

More years passed, and Sam joined Frodo, Esmerelda, and their big family in the Undying Lands after Rosie's death. Esmerelda was devastated by Rosie's death, and missed her horribly with each passing day. Thirty-one years later, Frodo and Esmerelda were laying in their bed, both of them now aged one-hundred-and-twenty-five years old, wrapped in each other's wrinkled arms. They had just celebrated their ninety-first wedding anniversary exactly nine months ago.

"My love," Frodo said, "how would you like to go?"

"To my death?" Esmerelda asked, and Frodo nodded against her head slowly and weakly. "I would not want it to be a painful death. I would want it to be peaceful, and I would like to go with you. I could not stand the pain of being left here without you."

"I could not stand that pain, either, love," Frodo said.

"I would want to go, just as we are now," Esmerelda whispered. "Here in the arms of my beloved Frodo. Here in the arms of the only true life I have ever known. You are my home, my dear Frodo. I want to meet my death in the loving embrace of my home."

Frodo tilted her head up and kissed her, just as he had when they were both young and freshly in love. She still tasted of strawberries and smelled of honeydew and flowers, even in her old age. Esmerelda kissed him back, noting of how he still tasted of honey and smelled sweetly of musk. She was immediately taken back to their youth, the nights where they would just lay in bed, kissing and cuddling. The nights when they would make love constantly until the sun rose and would sleep all day long from being so wore out from all of it. The way they would hold hands and run through the beautiful fields and streams with their sons both in the Shire and the Undying Lands. The way they would fall asleep in one another's arms every night, clinging to each other dearly as if their lives depended on it.

When they pulled apart, they held onto each other as tightly as they could. Esmerelda whispered, "I love you, my sweet, dear, beloved Frodo," and Frodo whispered, "And I love you, my beautiful, kind-hearted, beloved Esmerelda." They fell asleep in one another's arms, just like that. They felt themselves slipping away, and neither of them fought it. They welcomed it.

Sam found them both the next morning. He went to wake them up for breakfast, only to find that neither of them were breathing and they were both as cold as ice. Sam realized right then they were both dead and gone, and he was increasingly upset. He was beyond devastated at their passing when it really sank in, as well as all of their children and grandchildren. Frodo and Esmerelda were buried next to each other in the cemetery behind their home. They were placed beside of their deceased, unborn children & Bilbo, and their gravestone read, "Frodo Baggins "The Valiant": 22 September, 2968 TA–29 October, 93 FO & Esmerelda (Burrows) Baggins "The Fair": 11 May, 2968 TA–29 October, 93 FO –The Greatest Hobbits Who Ever Lived: A Heroic Prince and His Beautiful Princess."

Their children, their spouses, and the grandchildren all returned to the Shire permanently upon their deaths. They always went back on the anniversaries of their deaths and laid beautiful flowers on their grave, and Sam's as well. Sam passed away about six months after Frodo and Esmerelda, and he was placed next to them.

Frodo and Esmerelda were both happy in the afterlife. They were both aged thirty-three again, and they were joined by Lily, Belladonna, Bilbo, Andwise, Pippin, Merry, Frodo's parents, Rosie, and Sam, all of whom had gone back to looking young again. Frodo and Esmerelda were sitting by a pond in one another's arms, looking down into the pond. It was a mirror into the mortal world, where they would sit for hours a day looking down at their family as it grew and grew, feeling accomplished for all they had done.

"Esmerelda?" Frodo said, grinning at her.

"Yeah?" Esmerelda asked.

"We are going to have our family back someday," Frodo said. "All of them. We will be gazing down into this pond for all of eternity, just gazing down at our ever-growing family."

"I know," Esmerelda said. "I love it, my beloved. I do."

"I'm glad, then," Frodo said, kissing her hair.

"Frodo! Esmerelda!" they heard Rosie and Sam calling from behind them.

They turned and saw their friends, accompanied by Pippin and Merry, standing behind them. They were smiling at them, and Esmerelda and Frodo grinned at each other. With one last look into the pond, they smiled at each other and got up, running toward their friends. They all hugged happily, then ran off together into the beautiful, blissful eternity, overjoyed to be spending it together and knowing that it would eventually expand to include their own families. Nothing made any of them happier–except for each other.

They would always have one another, forever and for always. Their love and friendship would never die.

THE END!


End file.
